How much to expect to pay for a nice paint job?

[S10Fan]

Here's a couple shots of my 87 S-10. The truck is painted SPI base clear, Viper red. Six months of weekends (and some weekdays) passed from the day I drove it into my buddy's garage until it was complete. We removed the doors, glass, bed, fenders, and hood. I didn't think there was that much body work to do, I was wrong. I remember spending weekend after weekend block sanding. The bedsides are straight as an arrow. Prior to getting my truck painted I spent 3 months of weekends helping my buddy build his garage addition. The work on the S-10 was "payment" for my labor on the garage. There's no way I could have afforded the job in "cash".

This may come as a surprise to some, but I don't plan on ever spending that much time (or money) on another paint job. The truck is gorgeous but I let it sit and didn't drive it as much as I should have. All I could think about were scratches, chips and idiots on the road or parking lots. I finally said screw it and started racking up some miles, chips and all.

I guess my point would be this.....If your truck is going to be a daily driver, just get a decent paint job, keep it clean and the average person will never notice any imperfections. If you spend a gazillion dollars on the paint causing you to stop driving it, whats the point? No one will ever see it.