[BRENT in 10-uh-C]

I lurked on this one to see the responses first. While I would like to abstain from quoting prices, I am going to ask a few questions and make a few comments.

If the topcoat "was not done as well as it could have been", then how do you know what is under it was done well too?

If "just the outside" is all you want painted, how do you propose them to paint it and make it look decent? Let's start with the top insert. Are you thinking you want them to try to mask off the top material and the moldings, -remove the moldings, --or?? Any way you try to go here opens up a real can of worms unless the moldings and tops material is removed and reinstall the molding over the new paint for that clean & correct look.

What about the windshield frame? How do you propose to do that area? Do you want them to paint it with it closed where it will look like heck when it is opened? If you want to paint it with it open, consider how much work is involved sanding and masking to keep sanding dust and paint out of the interior and the glass.

Speaking of glass, look closely at the quarter and rear window glass where it is mounted against the sheetmetal. How do you propose to mask this? Paint does not stick well to rubber, and can you imagine how that tape line will look if the paint stops just short of the edge?

What do you suggest the painter do about the door overlap? Should the body be sprayed with the doors closed to keep paint out of the interior? If so, the paint will look good with the doors closed, but hideous when the door is opened. Matter of fact, the jamb area are going to look mismatched and sloppy unless they are sprayed like the exterior, ...but what do you do about masking the windlace? How do you mask the interior now to keep the sanding dust and paint overspray out of the interior?

Since we mentioned the doors, what about the deck door (rumble/deck lid) edges and drip rails? If you just repaint the outer skin and not the edges, how will that look? The same with cowl lamps (if equipped) or the cowl band. What about the hood and panels or the cowl lacing? There just isn't a good place to stop, and think about how much masking there will be just trying to save time by not removing them.

This now brings us to fenders and aprons. Without getting into the difficulties of matching black colors between existing and the new, surely you do realize the fenders will need to be repainted to match the other color of black on the body. So are we suggest painting overtop of the weltings? What about the tail light stands or around the spare tire area? To do a good job on the fenders really requires them to come off, ...but remember on a '30, the body needs to be lifted to get the fronts off. Since it is difficult to sand paint on the upper portion of the body (splash) apron due to the body sills being so close, the aprons really need to come off also.


I could go on & on, but the brutal reality is there is no way to do a good job with painting unless a lot of work goes into dismantling the car first. As a shop owner, they also realize their name is attached to shoddy craftsmanship, -even if their paying customer was ok with it. The other brutal reality is they are likely worried the customer won't be happy with it when it is done, and now they must spend their time & energy trying to make a customer satisfied. Expectations have become too great, and the economy is strong now where anyone that is decent is covered up with work, so their mindset is why bother with something they figure will be a money-loser for them.

Turning this into a positive, I would instead take the car to a Detail Shop and see if they can color-sand & buff the existing paint to improve what you already have. If the car is not pinstriped, consider doing that afterwards as that really helps the overall look.