Rides Restored Auto Body is a local (West Virginia) shop that specializes in classic restoration. Its owner, James Shinn, is a car buff who is active in the local Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) autocross scene, and road races an A/Stock machine. His employees are also car guys who love what they do.

When I asked Rick if he had any tips to pass along about cutting a "deal" for this type of work, he responded, "There wasn't much of a deal. After James looked it over, he gave me an estimate, I agreed and left the car. A lot of people think the estimate equals what you pay. Wrong! You will likely pay more."

He explained that when a shop gets into a job they usually find things they didn't see or count on in the first place. According to James, the shop lost money on the job. They received a bad batch of hardener for the black epoxy primer that was sprayed on after some fill and sand work had been done. It wouldn't set up, so it to be stripped to bare metal and redone. Luckily it only involved the doors and both lids. The body was done with a different batch. The cost of the job was over $4,000, but was within Rick's limit. He remarked that it could have been done more cheaply, but you get what you pay for, and he didn't want a cheap looking paint job.

Sikkens black epoxy primer is self-etching, and creates a bond that anchors the paint job. Filler/primer and sealer coats are applied over the epoxy primer, then an undercoat for the color, a white base coat, is added. Next comes the color coat (Cadillac White Pearl), topped by three coats of clear. All paint used was by Sikkens, a Dutch owned company renown for their high quality automotive finishes.