I sent the photo of the gouges from yesterday to Van's. Gus replied: "You're not the first to do this, and won't be the last - I've seen worse.. Just blend out the dings so it's fairly smooth and prime the area." I suspected that would be the answer, so that's what I did. I used 150 grit sandpaper to remove the gouges until none at all was visible. I took out the 150 grit scratches with 360 grit, followed by maroon scotchbrite. I finished up with a solvent wipe and a couple of coats of Duplicolor primer.
