How to Paint Muscle Cars Show Cars Like a Pro

Boost the value and collectability of your muscle car with this complete guide to show-quality painting.

Veteran author Tony Thacker teams up with LA-based award-winning painter extraordinaire Mick Jenkins in How to Paint Muscle Cars & Show Cars Like a Pro to show you how to create a beautiful finish. The book includes chapters on making a plan, the tools needed for the job, complete disassembly information, repair versus replacement decisions, metal prep, the latest and best paint products, application, custom finishes, and more.

The value and collectability of muscle cars has never been higher. Models that sold for $30,000 at auction 10 years ago are now going for quadruple that in many cases. The charts showing auction results, sale prices, and car value have a continuous upward trajectory. As such, some rare models of muscle cars are now valued in the realm of historically high-valued classic, sports, and show cars. Who would have dreamed that a Hemi 'Cuda convertible would be selling for Duesenberg or Ferrari money these days?

Of course, when values of muscle cars increase to such an extent, the care and detail spent on restoration becomes vitally important, putting them into the exotic and show car realm. Naturally, the most visible aspect of a full-blown restoration is the paintwork.

After stints with the legendary So-Cal Speed Shop, the NHRA museum, and setting speed records on the salt flats, Tony wrapped up his professional career by opening an education museum in the Portland area called The World of Speed. However, he is far from being retired and is as busy as ever consulting for a number of clients and works in front of a computer on his first love: some book projects.

Born west of London, England, Mick Jenkins completed a four-year panel beating and paintwork "City and Guilds" apprenticeship while working at a Jaguar dealership. In 1995, Mick moved to California and opened Mick’s Paint, fast becoming one of the nation’s leading refinishers, painting three winners of the America’s Most Beautiful Roadster Award. He has also painted cars for Billy F Gibbons of ZZ Top and Steve Strope of Pure Vision Design, a collaboration that has garnered numerous Ford and GM design awards from the floor of the SEMA Show to the lawns of the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.