Wow...very nice job on the repaint and thanks for the info. Basically, i'm just going to be sanding down the car, removing all the trim (and cleaning that and wetsanding the headlights), and having a cheapo place spray a darker version of claret on it for free.

See, if you look at my first thread I ever did in these forums, it was about the situation. Basically, Earl Scheib told me they'd make my car "like new" in any color I wanted for $650. I decided to do it because the car had been repainted before to this hideous plymouth prowler purple, and it needed to go. Car looked great in gunmetal gray for a week till the paint started peeling from the doors and bumpers. Hmm...I said. So I *****ed at them for a full repaint at another shop. I went to the other shop, and they were like OMG we're so sorry this happened. So they said they would repaint it, but this time I wanted metallic black. So they did it. When I went to pick it up, the car looked phenomenal...no runs, overspray, or orange peel, and they informed me that the place that originally painted it for me did a huge rush job ecause they were closing shop 2 days after I picked up the car (!!). Fast foreward 2 months. All of the paint around the wheel wells is peeling, and guess what...THE SECOND PLACE DIDN'T PROPERLY SAND, EITHER!

So, i'm going to do the prep work myself. They agreed to another repaint for free, and to be perfectly honest, their actual paint is very good...better finish than a new E class Benz I saw the other day. But it's not adhering because those lazy ass people in there aren't sanding properly.

So I figure, do the prep work, get it back to its almost original color (I actually think claret is too light, so the "dark orchard mica" pro paint will be perfect, thus why I call it "dark claret"), take good care of the paint, and all will be well.

Wow...I just realized my car has been/will have been 5 colors in its life (claret, prowler purple, gunmetal gray, metallic black, and soon, dark orchard metallic)...can anyone beat that?