Let's talk paint... Options

[dbgriffith75]

So I had a guy come look at my '75 today to give me an estimate on painting it. He couldn't give me an estimate on labor as he'd like to see it when it's ready for him- that is, I'm doing all the prep work myself. But we did discuss paints and the different options I have.

He told me what he typically uses is PPG brand paint, which I don't know if that's just a local supplier or nationwide, but he said that their stuff runs about $300/gallon and it's good quality paint. Which I'd hope so at that price. But he was also telling me about this stuff called Shopline (again I'm not sure if it's just local or not) and that if you take a gallon of each and compare them, it looks the same, smells the same, has the same ratio for spraying, etc etc. Basically you can't tell the difference and it's much cheaper at $80/gallon.

I'm just wondering what other options are there? I'm not trying to be a cheap ass about this- I want to put a quality paint job on it. I make a good living, but at the same time money is an object, and I'm doubting I'll be able to afford $300/gallon for paint.

Another factor to consider is time. I'm trying to get the car in running and selling condition by July 1st. He informed me that once he had the car, depending on what I decide to do, it would take 2-3 weeks before he'd have it done. When I told him about my "deadline" so to speak, he mentioned using a single step paint since I'm not taking the whole car down to bare metal. It wouldn't be as much a top quality job, but it would speed up the process and still look good.

So what do you guys think? What would be the best way to go about tackling the paint job? It's the last big obstacle I have before putting the motor back in it and doing the fine tuning to make it roadworthy. Thanks.