OK guys - the texturing and painting has been done - pics tomorrow!!
For now, I'll let you know - the SEM texture is SH!T. It laid down like flat back paint. And that's the other crappy thing - ALL the texture I could find comes in black - it says "paintable" so you'd think it'd be off-white - or anything but black....It took 4 cans of SEM white to completely cover. And now I have to be worried about scratches that will show black under. I tried to source not-black texture of any kind, but no luck. There's a white BedLiner texture spray, but it has silica sand in it which is like non-slip tape!
Anyways, the better texture is called Sure Text - of course black as well, but much better texture.
The key of course is extremely careful and fine prep work. In a couple spots that I didn't transition (feather) the texture perfectly (becuase I thought the new texture would hide it) I had to redo it. The textures don't match exactly, but in total I spent about $120.00 on materials (4 white SEM = 60.00, 2 cans texture = 30.00, prep spray - 13.00, towels, etc....) vs. $450.00 for new panels. I guess if it was a 70-71 or a lifelong keeper I'd go new, but for a 318 - 74.... Let's just say, we'll see how they wear.
Cheer - and Happy New Years!