Clear coat and paint chipping in several places. I sanded down the few spots with light chips. The others are down to bare metal and missing chunks bigger than a dollar bill.

I want to paint it with a different color. Starting with a flat red primer. Before I do... any suggestions on filling the chunks missing? Best way to get all the chips removed the fastest and easiest way without damage or denting the body? Example: jackhammer will not be used... but wondering if there is a tool I can use to loosen the paint and remove it. If there are areas where the paint is falling off from bare metal... I dont trust the paint job so etching the old paint job and then finding new chips would be a little devastating.

Or should I strip it all down to bare metal?

Is there a way to confirm if the primer stuck to metal and it would be safe to etch & paint over?