Holy Crap!! The price of Paint.....
That interior looks fantastic, I guess it's like anything else, you get what you pay for. Of all the areas to skimp on a resto, paint is not one of them (IMO).
Exactly. For the average car show attendee, besides the make or model of a car, the paint work is what draws the eye towards the car. No matter what you may have done underneath the paint, new quarters, pans, etc, no one can see this. But they can see the paint work right off the bat.
You can run a cheaper line of paint, say Shopline or Omni, and have it look good, but will it last as long or be as durable as the higher line? There's a reason why it's cheaper and usually the paint manufacturer won't warranty their lower lines. You can spend half the price now and have it last ten years if maintained well or spend all of it up front and as long as it's maintained and have it last a life time, standing up to UV, chemical spills, acid rain, etc.
Take a look at it this way: used car dealers use a lower line. It's good enough to get a car off the lot without having to put a lot of money into it. Collision Pro shops, who have to warranty their work for the insurance company, use a high line. See the difference?