actually you can paint a car for $40 if you really wanted to.... its all in how much time and effort you want to put in the finishing aspect. i painted the new fender on my ram for about $30 in Duplicolor primer, color and clear.. wet sanded between every coat on my back pool deck. every time i laid a coat down, shit would land in it and require a wet sanding. its all lacquer based and has about 25 coats betwen the primer, color and clear. then i used a red rubbing compound to smooth out the finish, then meguirs PlastX and then a white 3m polishing compound for removing orangepeel and oxidation. i did it all by hand and the finish came out perfect. another story, my friend bought a gallon of white laquer and a gallon of thinner and a foam roller. he mixed it 1:1 and rolled an S10 blazer with about 30 coats of single stage. then he just buffed it all out. youd never know it wasnt done professionally... all for about $40. anyone know a shop that would color match the cab of my truck to my "new" bed for cheap? it just has to look good enough for long enough so i can sell the truck.