>I did notice that one day's cars didn't have a real glossy shine I don't 
know
>if that was the paint or just dust...my T-Bird shined after I had it 
painted
>Anyway, I'm driving out to Covina to check out MAACO.
>
>What about local guys? How can you tell if they are good? Ask around? Get a
>list of past customers?  Seems like a crap shoot...

I had an old Mustang painted at the Earl Scheib in Santa Ana. Price was
$289 for their "best" paint job-- urethane additive, any color you want,
they even matched a sample of my favorite shade.

They did it pretty quickly, and fixed several small dings in the process.
One spot of paint of the chrome at the bottom of a vent window. But the
job came out nice and glossy, and now, three years later, the paint still
looks good as the day it was done, except for door dings courtesy of
other drivers, and some area where I used a Scotch-brite pad to get some
crap off (don't EVER do this!)

Schieb has since raised his prices for his "best" paint job, over the $400
mark I believe. But he often has sales, back down into the $300 range.

I have had many cars painted at Scheib's over the years. Their cheapest
paint job basically sucks. But their "best" is the best deal on an
inexpensive paint job I've ever seen. I highly recommend them, unless
you are going for "perfect showroom" quality.

 -Steve Maher   smaher@gi.com   '71 VW Transporter
                               '66 Mustang Coupevertible w/Scheib paint job