Adventure in Painting

[Mark McDonald <tomswift@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I know this subject has been discussed at length lately, but I've
decided it's time to paint one or two of my cars, if I can afford it,
and I'm setting off on a quest to find the right painter.  To me, that's
someone who does good work at a reasonable price and I don't have to
argue with him to get it done the way I want it.

It's already turning out to be an adventure.

First of all, it's amazing to me what people will say with absolute
certainty, as if it were unquestioned gospel and everybody who's anybody
already knows it.

For example, the 3rd fellow I called said: "Our average restoration runs
$15,000 to $50,000."  I wasn't sure if I had understood him correctly,
so I asked him if he was saying that his cheapest restoration was
$15,000.  He said that was correct and added "If you're not willing to
spend that much you're wasting your time."

His reasoning was, to "do it right once is better than doing it twice
wrong."  While I agree with this statement by itself, I don't think it
explains his prices, and I find his prices astonishing.  I am not
looking for a car to take to Pebble Beach.  I'm looking for a good
quality paint job for a car that I intend to drive occasionally and
carefully, and show every once in awhile.  But I'm not really into
competition, I just enjoy old cars & going to events.

Some other statements, from various shops:

1.  Chryslers are more prone to rust than other vehicles.

2.  If I have rust underneath the car, the car is unsafe because it's
unitized construction and therefore the structure of the car has been
weakened.  He recommended sandblasting the underside of the car and
determing what needed to be replaced before even talking paint.

3.  Basecoat/clearcoat is the only way to go because A) it lasts longer,
B) it's easier to maintain, and C) it's cheaper.

4.  No one will warranty their paintwork if it goes on over someone
else's paint.  The only way any shop will warranty their paintwork is if
they are allowed to strip the car down to bare metal.

5.  The minimum amount of time I'm looking at is six months to a year to
do my car.

Anybody have an opinion on these comments?

Thanks, Mark