All, I had a 1981 Plymouth Gran Fury, ex Ohio State Patrol, (daily driver) painted at a Earl S. shop in Columbus, Ohio. I did all the prep work (sanding out stone chips and filling in dings) and had Earls boys paint it. The paint (Midnight Blue Metallic) turned out great. It looked like a factory job. I sold it to my brother four years later and he wrecked it two years later and junked it. It sat in the salvage yard two more years before the paint began to oxidize badly. (Now it looks like any other rusty factory paint job.) Quality must depend on the shop and skill of the painter. Factory paint Jobs of the era were not all that great. Grandmas new 1972 Newoprt had thin spots, bubbled areas and runs. A 1974 Charger I had that had never been painted (5000 miles) had similiar problems. I have a 1958 Plymouth wagon ('Nother driver) that I am going to have a shop do a 'factory' style paint job done on. I have a friend with a salvage yard that is going to let me have two old wagons. I'm going to strip them and have the painter shoot them, one at a time, as fast as he can. Then I am going to have him paint the 1958. I will let you know how all of this turns out. Larry Stanley |