[Accumulator]

Tom P. & weekendwarrior- Gee, sorry to hear you guys had to have work done. Tom, I'm really glad the "bambi incident" apparently didn't involve any personal injury.

[Sigh..insert whine about my poor, deered, S8...the repairs *still* bug me...]

wonderyears- Welcome to Autopia! Sorry you're in this pickle.

IMO one of the best ways is to get a recommendation from somebody whose opinion you'd trust. You simply won't know for certain if you'll be satisfied until after they've done the work, but satisfied customers who are as demanding as you are should have some valuable opinions. Hard to find people who know good from mediocre though.

I've only recently found a shop that does work to my satisfaction, and I've been having cars painted since the mid-'70s! This shop was recommended by my Jag Club's chief concours judge, a high-level restoration expert who understands just how particular I am. FWIW, it's no fancy place and a walk-through might not make a great impression, but the work they do is *infinitely* better than what I've had done in fancy shops that look real "professional". Heh heh, their little shop, located out in the sticks, recently finished a R-R Silver Ghost that was shipped over from Europe just for their work, for which their temporary insurance coverage was in the millions.