60's Spridget paint?

[glemon]

An $8K paint job on a Bugeye ? In my eyes the new 2-stage or catalyzed paints are way too shiney and don't really look like original paint even with a good wax job. Vintage cars with high gloss clear coats do nothing for me. Of course I can admire the skill, but there's a point where the finish obscures the object. What I have done to both acrylic enamel or urethane is to color ( wet) sand with 2000 grit and then compound it out to a beautiful sheen, not shine. This , to me, has the closer look of the solid paint I remember from my youth. If you're going for the trophies and the judges are still giving them to the guys who spent the most money, then go for it.
I have painted about 8 cars myself and also two where I did ALL the prep work, chrome removal, and the critical edge masking and taken them to MAACO and was very happy. ( except for the one where the windshield cracked in their oven). I like my cars to look like they are 4-5 years old and just driven out of the garage and not the restoration shop. People always tell me " That's in really good shape".

Agree 100% with all that is said here 100%, I have painted my cars with single stage as well, and I am fine with the 4-5 years just driven out of the garage, well cared for car look. Perfection is a harsh mistress, especially if you enjoy driving and working on your car.