Obsessed F/X, custom paint

[joey]

Can I comment here...kinda parallel topic..could be a new thread maybe, but here goes.

Painting car bodies is a funny deal. Everybody wants a cool looking custom shell. They see Mike's works and fall in love with the detailed pinstriping and CF look, multi-colors, etc... Then they ask for a quote...well, it's a six color scheme, with miles of flames and pinstripes, and it takes (how long, Mike?) hours to mask and cut, and spray, and clean the airbrush between colors, etc.
and then they are shocked when a painter asks $75 for his work. Well, coming from a newb painter, I can tell you that the materials and your time add up to a whole lot more than you can get people to pay. I do see some guys who do decent jobs getting $70-90 for bodies on eBay, but face it, eBay business is a bit a hassle within itself.

Mike's work is right up there with the guys we see in the mags, and we know it because he's been in the mags. He's on the top racers. Jerry's work is fantastic also, he custom mixes and multilayers colors to achieve unique results (how many colors make up that "orange" again, Jerry?).

For anyone who thinks a multicolor, detailed body for $40 is too low, you're right! For anyone who thinks $125 for a wicked Czech maxxed out body is too high, you are wrong!

Again, speaking for my own experience, getting results like Mike and Jerry (and others) is not easy. The time it takes to learn it and do it right are valuable. Don't believe me, go out and drop $100 on your own airbrush, another $80 for 15-20 colors and liquid mask film, $50 for a compressor, and get to work painting your own shells. In about a week you will start appreciating the value of either Jerry or Mike.

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