How to get rid of surface rust on my truck hood?

I have a 1990 Ford F-150 and it is in terrific shape. Not any rust on it except for a layer of on the hood. I don't mind it, but I must admit the brown is jarring when the truck is sky blue. So how do I go about removing it? I heard sandpaper will do the trick. So if I plug in my hand sander and go to town on it, will I see results? Also, I plan to repaint the hood. What primer should I get? And what paint brand do you prefer? Any and all help is appreciated!

If you use an electric sander then use 120 grit paper first then 220 to get it finer. Make sure you do not make any large scratches otherwise you will have to sand these out also with even finer paper.

Get cans of spray primer if you are doing it yourself (they are more forgiving) and put on a good 3 coats. Use WET wet and dry paper at 800 grit or finer to rub down the primer to get a smooth surface. Your top coat will show EVERY little scratch you miss, so take your time to do this part correctly.

If you can get the colour coat done professionally as home done SHOWS every time. You do not have a spay bay or paint oven at home so can't avoid dust and the drying time will be days not hours.

If you DO insist on doing it yourself again use spray cans as these dry faster so you will have less dirt in your paint job. For the paint choose one with UV protection (as this is what was lacking before hence the rust problem) and or clear coat with a UV protected lack. Both should be at LEAST 2-3 coats of each with short intervals in between (say 5 minutes on a warm day) and All done on the same day. So make sure you plan the whole day for painting and NOTHING else.

Why are paint shops so expensive? You will find out by the amount of work is involved on painting even 1 panel!