Charlotte area paint shops?

Not a hot rod, but an old Mercedes that I would want to have entirely repainted in what I would call factory plus paintjob. I would want the original color EXACTLY (well...as best as can be done with the new water based paints we have to use) and thicker clear coat than factory and more gloss to it, but this will be a daily driver so I wouldn't want to waste a show car paintjob on it.

Does anybody have any recommendations for body shops in the Charlotte, NC area (I'm 20 miles North of downtown, but anywhere within 50 miles of harlotte pretty much is good with me, or further if it's worth it)? I've heard Caldwell Collision, anybody have any thoughts on them?

I apologize if this is the wrong forum, but from what I could tell it is the best fit.

Thanks,
Richard

Richard, how far are you from Carrowinds exit right off of 77-south? I work at a shop there and we do everything from paint, body, full resto's, engines, etc.

I'm about 2 hours off I'd say, which is a bit far. I've actually since found a few shops that I'm going to look at, maybe you know something about them? Fred Hudson Paint & Collision, Import Paint, and Automotive International. I know the first two use Glasurit, which is important to me since that's what the factory used, and I forgot to ask at the third one. Maybe you have some ideas of things I should look for when I go to tour the shops?
Thanks,
Richard

I am no "pro" here but here is what I would look for (I work at a shop and know what some shops run into which hold things up or turn into problems)... Look at the work that is there currently and ask them how long they have been sitting there for. See how clean the shop is and how organized they are, reason for this is because you do not want them tearing your car apart to paint it and then lose something and they lie to you saying that you never had the part to begin with. Talk to the employee's of the shop, see if they know what they are talking about or if they are just some jo blow off the street wanting some crack money (trust me on this one, especially in our area here we have had lots come looking for jobs). See what kind of materials they use and look at how clean their spray booth is. I hate to see shops (even we do it sometimes because of the customer) that use all these different brands of materials for paint, primer, sealer, etc because they will cheap out on one big time like primer and base and think that a really good clear will cover for the two.
Just look at the cars that are there and see how they are stripping them down and look at the gaps of the cars to see if they take time on the detailed things like gaps and jambs of a car. Now when I say this though I dont mean to look at a Honda Accord or something, I am talking about a high end paint job that someone paid a lot for or a old hot rod that is going through a restoration.
I can't really think of anything else right now besides to talk to the boss and see how confident he sounds in the time it will take, the money it will cost you and how confident he is in his work.
Good luck and let me know how it goes!

So what is the update here? Have you found a shop to do the work yet?

Still waiting on pistons. I'm not going to waste my time and theirs while JE Pistons can't get their damn act together. Pistons were ordered in October. They were told early December that they sent incorrect pistons. Every week they say "you'll have them Friday" and every Friday there are no pistons. If someone has a hookup with JE please let me know. I would have gone with Ross pistons after that first screw up, but the guy who's putting the engine together kept saying to wait for JE. I'll say this much, unless JE starts to kiss my butt, this will be the last time I ever use them, and if they don't get their act together fast I won't even be using them this time (and I'll sue them for something. What, I don't know yet, since I can't even get a look at the damn contract. I do know this, I don't care if I have to spend lots of money to screw them if they keep this up).

Hey Marlin, if read yor thread correctly you are only about 30 to 40 miles from Carrowinds which is on the NC SC border.

seanpd

Yeah, I'm about 35 miles north of there (seems like a lot longer for some reason). Pistons are finally shipped, so things are back to the stage of happening. I've found three shops that use Glasurit paint (a requirement of mine) and I've heard are good, so I'll be checking them out (Fred Hudson Paint and Collision, Import Paint and Body, and Automotie International). Need to do some price comparison/shop comparison to see who I go with.

Here's one in Charlotte. Runs a full service shop from build to paint to maintenance.


Red's Place Custom & Restoration
4905 Holly Vista Dr.
Charlotte North Carolina 28269-0000

Phone: 704-509-6397

Well...engine still isn't done (see my thread about JE pistons if you care to see why). BTW, on paint shops, I'm only considering places that use Glasurit...if we even get to that stage while I'm still in NC. I'm now trying to find a place that uses Glasurit in MD, which doesn't seem to exist.