[mgarblik]

I think everyone considering painting their own car needs to have an honest self-assessment of what they consider "good enough". In my mind, I keep it simple. Earl Shieb good?, MAACO good?, crash repair body shop good?, OE quality good, Car show quality good? Those are the categories in my brain. I have painted 2 cars overall myself at my house. 68 Firebird was first at 18 years old. It was barely Earl Sheib good and I worked really hard on it. In my mid-30's I painted a 9 passenger Catalina wagon Barrier Blue lacquer. Built a wood walkway to get down the sides high enough to get the roof properly. Shot nearly 3 gallons of lacquer product. Then the sanding and buffing. Huge job. It was OE quality when finished. It took a 2nd place in a POCI convention show. I fully understand and appreciate the skill and work that goes into a restoration and quality paint job. That's the main reason I will only buy a car with good body and paint today. It takes a real artistic touch to produce great bodywork and paint. For our beloved Pontiacs, I just wouldn't want to drive one that was "Earl Sheib good", or "MAACO good". I would want it better than that. Everyone has a certain criteria they can live with. That's one reason "Rat Rods", and "Patina cars", became so popular. It was a way to make "road junk", acceptable to the car show folks.