How’s this for a fascinating discovery? Earl Scheib’s grandson Don Scheib is apparently having someone convert old 16mm films of Earl’s classic TV commercials to online digital formats for easy viewing by anyone! But these early commercials which made Earl Scheib so famous are not on YouTube. So I’ve provided the links below . . .
My own observations:
- I had only previously seen two Earl Scheib commercials on YouTube; one from 1977-78, and one from 1986. So when I saw these newly-released ads from the early ’60s, I immediately noticed that Earl looked a lot younger and seemed more friendly and personable than in later years. His voice is less gravelly, and he is articulate and believable. I can see why he was so successful. According to Wikipedia, Earl Scheib was born in 1908 in San Francisco. He worked at a gas station after graduating high school. For someone from a working-class background who never went to college, he certainly is well-spoken and obviously very intelligent.
- Earl is a master at marketing. He uses a lot of glorious and scientific-sounding adjectives and gimmicks and makes it all sound so rational and fair and desirable. Thus we have “Miracle Silicone Diamond-Gloss Paint” (available in 3000 colors) which “sparkles” (as verified by a gloss meter) and has “the hardness, lustre and brilliance of a diamond” and needs no waxing for three years; the automatic “Esta-Meter” which, when rolled across an area of car body damage gives an exact estimate of the cost of repairs (“It takes only ten seconds to know the truth!”) Earl Scheib makes his own masking tape, “Enough to reach to the moon”. He’s painted over 3 million cars. Finished cars are dried in a “Giant Infra-Red Bake Oven”. All this for only $29.95–no Ups and no Extras. How does Earl do it?
- You get to see a lot of Curbside Classics from the 1950s and early ’60s in these commercials, getting painted and then showing off their sparkly-new paint jobs.
- The ads were produced by Elliot, Unger, and Elliot in New York City. One of the voiceovers sounds like Cousin Brucie, but I’m not sure that it’s him.
After Earl’s death in 1992, his auto painting empire slowly collapsed. That’s what so often happens when the original creator of something passes away. Successors don’t have the same charisma and street-smarts and vision to continue something started by someone else. And if they do, it’s never quite the same. So, loved or reviled, Earl Scheib enters into the pantheon of American automotive men of renown.
(The first link is 7 minutes; the second is 33 minutes)
Were they any good?
You Auto paint now!
I’ve read lots about Earl Schieb’s cheap paint job online over the last 25 years, but never heard an ad or drove by a shop, much less ever use their services. As I assumed, that’s because they never extended to the east coast. From what I’ve heard, you’d get a decent paint job if you spend some time on prep work first (true of house painting too). Didn’t know how the chain had since fallen – taken over by a private equity firm that sold most of the shops and sold the rest to private owners, some who continue to use the Scheib name. I hope they get their act together, and rebuild the company. There will always be a market for their brand of work.
Born and raised on the east coast, I remember constantly being bombarded with Earl Scheib commercials and ads. Any car, any color, $29.95!
I also remember my dad saying, you get what you pay for.
My ‘59 Dodge has an Earl Scheib paint job…done in 1996 in Waukegan, IL for $600. Far from perfect, but it was what I could afford at the time & was presentable enough when finished. I did remove most of the trim myself (with my step brother-in-law’s help) and that helped avoid overspray.
Looks outstanding! Great color choice too!
Thank you, much appreciated!
There’s a Rolls-Royce featured in one of the commercials. Might be a long shot, but I can’t help but wonder if it’s Gloria Swanson’s, which the current owner says was repainted by Earl Scheib, and reupholstered in vinyl.
Reminds me of episodes of Hoovie’s Garage, where Tyler Hoover has Macco repaint his Lamborghini Murcielago and Porsche 911, and bodywork performed on his Maybach.
I had two Earl Scheib jobs done in the last fifteen or so years. My ’66 F250 and my ’97 Acura Integra front clip repaint. The base price was up to 399.00 by then. The truck was prepped carefully by me before it was painted. I removed most of the chrome trim and cleaned the undercarriage and under the hood with compressed air and water so that dust wouldn’t be blown onto the fresh paint. I also did a little POR rust treatment.The service writer was upfront about what I could expect as he went over the contract. I was satisfied by both paint jobs because I was realistic going in. I have since found another paint shop, since that Scheib location went out of business.
While I believe that a car is only original once, and preservation is the best course, sometimes the paint is just too far gone. Even though the base prices at the paint shop of my choice has risen to 900.00 ( without a coupon) you are not going to get a Concours level paint job without spending many, many, times that amount. However if you enter into the process with the right attitude and expectations you stand a good chance of being satisfied. here’s a picture of my old truck, a noteworthy improvement.
“… you are not going to get a Concours level paint job without spending many, many, times that amount.”
Very true, and most of the vehicles owned by mere mortals like us never had a concours-level paint job to begin with.
There’s a point where I have to put my OCD tendencies aside, and simply enjoy my old iron. It’s like I often say at work: “Don’t let ‘perfect’ be the enemy of ‘good.’”
Nice truck, in a great truck color
Google shows 2 current locations in NYC as of today. Friend of my uncle Leo got a $29.95 job back in the day and was satisfied . Remember being told that most of the cost was in the preparation and if my car needed paint I should have Scheib spray it after prepping it myself. I think that is was some of the kids who “fixed up” their cars did back then. Remember those ads on New York television and later ones from other chain body shops.
The one VO sounds a bit like Cousin GooseGrease, but it’s not him.
Pap used to refer to our sanding/painting of the beater cars as “Earl Scheib jobs”…love how they showed off painting upper level GM cars in the spots!
I remember television ads in the 1960’s about an auto repainting company in Kansas City, Mo., who specialized in bargain priced auto repainting (not Earl Sheib), I used to see their commercials in the 1960’s at night on local stations. None of the automotive trim was replaced, it was simply masked off and painted. A friend of mine had his Volkwagen repainted there, it was a sort of metallic off-color metallic red that looks pinkish. When he opened the sunroof or the doors, the original paint could be seen, Then about 1969 or so he backended another vehicle, after repairs it was back to the “bargain paint shop to repaint the front half-the original paint had faded so he ended up with a sort of two tone Volkswagen.
I quit Fecebook 11 years ago—don’t miss it; life’s better without—so I will wait until the digitised ads find their way elsewhere.
I would imagine that environmental and workplace safety requirements are large factors in the disappearance of the cheap paint job. I’m sure everyone over 50 or so remembers what it used to smell like within a hundred yards of a place that sprayed auto paint. Also the base/clear systems have probably doubled the labor from what a cheap spray job used to be. MAACO no longer touts itself as a center for inexpensive paint jobs but as a real body shop.
I cannot think of the last person I knew of who got an everyday car painted just to get it painted. Between the durability of modern finishes and the disposability of old cheap cars, that market seems to have pretty much gone away.
It does seem like a combination of better OEM paint and environmental regulations killed off the cheap paint job places.
Especially the first one – some of the cars featured in the commercials were only four or five years old, none more than maybe eight to ten years old. Today my cars and trucks range from five to 17 years old, all have the original paint, and all are still shiny.
Quite true it seems. Our family had a 1975 LTD, a 1984 Pontiac 6000 and a 1989 Pontiac Bonneville, all of which needed a complete repaint within 5 years. At least the respray on the Bonneville was partially covered by the dealer after I screamed loud enough.
That Bonneville was the last American vehicle I owned. The paint on the Hondas and Acuras that followed was perfect for the 10 years plus I owned them.
The many colors thing was a B.S. dodge to get you in the door ~ the $29.95 colors were horrible so you’d pay extra to get white, red or anything else decent .
I began building old cars for resale in the late 1960’s and so I loved Earl Schieb paint jobs ~ I’d buy any old beater that didn’t have dents as long as it was an older re spray and allin once colr .
Those Acrylic Enamel paints could be cut, polished, waxed and buffed to a mirror shine, I did that then overhauled them to run well and never had any problems selling .
-Nate
That sounds like the $29.95 colours were the result of pouring the leftovers from multiple jobs of roughly similar colours into cans until they were full.