Just outside Raleigh, North Carolina.  Recent transplant so I don't know the area at all.  

When it came time to paint the hood on my truck I went and bought a Harbor Freight paint gun and Base Coat/Clear Coat paint from O'reilly's and did it myself.
It's not a show quality paint job, but I'm pretty happy with how it turned out...definitely good enough for a daily driver.

See my post here.  http://fyi.boardhost.com/viewtopic.php?id=7167
 

Last edited by Michael H. (6/30/2017 3:29 PM)

I wouldn't totally discount Maaco!!!
I had them paint my Mustang once and my little S-10 also. The thing with Maaco's.............they are NOT all just alike. Some do pretty darn good work for the money. Definately  daily driver quality. Is it going to look like Mustang Steve's 66???? NOPE!! Is it something the average joe-som can pick apart  just looking at it???NOPE!!  Does the price start from $10,000-$100,000?? Uh-uhh.
Go look at their work a few times and see how they do.
I was totally surprised.
6sal6  

Interesting.  Maybe I will give Maaco another look.  I had them paint this same car about 15 years ago for $700 (I removed chrome and took all top surfaces down to metal per their recommendation since the car had been reshot once already).  The color has held up fine.  What I wasn't happy with was how easily it scratched.  And since I am going with a satin and can't using rubbing compound or color waxes to hide them....

I'll give them a ring tomorrow.  Maybe I will be prepping this weekend!

Any other thoughts?  

Also the dreaded roof... looks like repo coup roofs are STILL unavailable.  Everyone says they are a dime a dozen in the scrap yard.  I must find this mythical mustang scrap yard one day.  

Ok, so I knew isocyantes in urethane was an issue from a research project I did for a client a while back, but it is sounding like it is a big no-go for painting in an attached garage.  Any ideas?  

I think you have to evaluate the roof, and then decide how to proceed.

I wanted to chime in here... I have lived in Fayetteville and Raleigh and have gone through similar experiences to you. Yes, it is frustrating and I feel your pain. If it were me, here is what I would do;

1. Google is your friend. Take 2-3 pictures of the car (make sure the image files are not too large) and I would email a bunch of body shops with the pictures and a brief summary of what you want done.
2. I would look at body shops outside of the Raleigh area. Don't get me wrong, Raleigh is a beautiful area, but I think they can be a little up themselves and maybe this is what you are experiencing. Have a look in areas like Fuquay Varina, Greensboro, Hillsboro, Clayton, Apex, Smithfield and areas like that. I had some bad experiences with businesses in Fayetteville. 

I found this body shop in Fuquay Varina  -  http://www.ncclassicrestorations.com/
No idea what they are like, I just found them by doing a search.

Maaco... I agree with other opinions here. I think they are ok. I think it comes down to just clearly communicating your expectations and ask whether they can do it. Personally, I think they can cater to what you want.

Just my opinion....
 

To close the loop on this:

I did find a guy to paint it!!!  He was exactly the type of guy I was wanting to find - has a place outside of town, a few scrap cars on his properties, willing to and can do any job - insurance work, custom jobs, body work, mechanic, and breeds German Shepards.  Has a towing business for anything from tiny hybrids to Semis and RVs.  A great guy whose usual response is "yeah, we can do that for ya."  in a thick NC accent.  When looking over my car  he even mentioned off hand "You know... I've got a 9" Ford diff with disc brakes on it just sittin' over there.  Just sayin'...."

So if you are in the Raleigh/Durham, NC area and need anything - Advanced Towing and Collision is the way to go.  I told him he should make a different branded subsidiary to push his custom and all-around work, but we'll see.  He seems plenty busy and happy for now.

So thanks to the community for keeping me going!!

Also - the roof was a very pleasant surprise.  A bunch of pock marks and a few rust holes no bigger than a 1/4" here and there.  Probably the first thing ever that went my way on this damn car.