This has drifted completely away from the original post and I apologize for that.

But, to answer the question, yes I spend that much on a paint job. Shipping a frame and fork off to Keith Anderson, having it painted, and shipped back can quickly move beyond $600 (AKA 30 to 40 percent of final frame price). No, I have not yet become a multi-millionaire building bike frames. Customers don't LIKE top notch paint, they DEMAND top notch paint. The other builders here I am sure will agree in the spirit of that statement. The upper crust of bike painters around the country (Joe Bell, Keith Anderson, Spectrum Powderworks, Airglow, et al.) all charge for their efforts and it ain't cheap.

Few people look at a bike and exclaim, "Man, the brazing under that paint is beautiful!". The brazing needs to be top notch and the bike needs to be structurally sound, last a long long long time and go down the road straight. That is the job of the builder. But at first glance and before throwing a leg over it, it is often the paint that stirs the spirit. So, in some ways, paint is MORE important to the product.

I have tried local powdercoaters (even the meth heads charge me more than $50) and a couple of "up and comer" painters here locally to try and source a quality, dependable, and affordable local painter/powder. Through trial and error with most of them I decided I wouldn't trust them to paint my barn.