Swiftster.... I was visiting a local community college and the instructor for the auto body shop said almost what you said but also said that you can find painters all over the place (he used some terminology that I don't remember) and you can pick them out from anywhere but a body man is where it's at because not as many people are wanting to become body men, they wan't to just do the painting and designs. I think that someone that can do both though (of course) would be better off. I have heard this lecture I guess you would call it a lot already since I have asked a lot of people and yeah it kind of will bring you down a bit but if you really wan't to do it like I wan't to then it won't make you turn around and NOT do it. Don't ever say you can't do something though. 300,000-500,000 IS a TON of money!!! But think of it this way... Those expensive machines and equipment in the end will save you some pain, save you a lot of time and money. I was talking to an old lady that owns a big machine shop and she said that if I want to own a shop then I should expect to not ever have much extra change in my pocket for a few years and maybe even about 8-10 years. As long as you start small and work your way up (focus on one thing at a time) then you should be able to do it man, but remember it isn't going to run all like you see on TV with shows like Boyd, OCC, Rides, etc. (see these old geezers tought me a lot already.)