Just a view on your objectives. I have driven old cars for years and never really cared about the paint. Recently I had some money and had my old truck repainted proffesionaly. It looks fantastic, I love to drive it, love to park it and have people admire it, it has just made a huge difference to my enjoyment of the thing.
My point is if you like the car and want to keep it, by all means remove all the chrome etc. yourself, but have a pro paint it. It's worth it, he can do in week what will take you months.
It you want to do it yourself take it on as a learning experience but not as a way of saving a few bucks.