Alan,
You could wet the tarps down with a hose, to knock some of the static
down, but then you would have a super humid environment, not good to
trap humidity under paint.
Sand, wire brush (on die grinder or drill) or sand blast rust, feather
area of repair,  prime with a zinc-chromate self etching primer(Dupont
Vari-Prime) Sand, prime with a high fill primer(S-W ultra fill is good)
sand entire van with 320, and paint.
After your done, you will appreciate the high costs of refinishing, and
you will probably want to murder me for giving you this advise.
Good Luck
Terry

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