[Jason Oldfield]

Well, my last paint job was about $2,000 on my Corvette. It didn't require any major body work, and it was only one color (red if you couldn't guess). I'm no collision guy, so I don't know everything that was required, but I'm guessing it was primarily a sand, paint, and buff (admittedly, the mask job that was done wasn't that great because there was overspray on some of the trim, aluminum, and frame).

I'd have a hard time justifying a $10,000 circus paint job (but man I would LOVE to have one on my car.) So, I generally try to look for an up and comer that is hungry. I'd love to find somebody to do it for free (with me supplying material), but I'm not sure that you can find that anymore.

If there are any good painters out there though looking to showcase their work for free on an original '63 Corvette, let me know...

Oh, and as for the hand-lettered cars, they are still out there. You just have to look for the guy that takes extreme pride in his vehicle, and can afford it (it seems that most of the hand-lettered cars I see nowadays are gold leaf.)