So, Why does a race team need a FULL time painter? Simple, Really. Just check out some pics below.

Why Neon Sucks

This is why Neon colors suck: No colorfastness. Neons tend to begin fading immediately, especially in the sun. Literally just a matter of minutes will alter a neon color. Over time, Neons will eventually fade completely away . This particular car shows neon green painted over a light blue undercoat. This makes the green vibrant, but not fluorescent as it would be over white. This shock cover came off of a show car with about three year old paint. When the stickers were removed, a perfect photo negative was revealed showing how bright the original paint was, and how far it has faded off around them. Also, notice the "Double exposure', where an old sponsor, corona, was removed..  The original Corona was so visible, that a current sponsor, Bufalo, had to be placed over the area to hide it. 

What happens to a nose after dragging a concrete wall. Proper length, freshly painted nose on right shows how much of the other nose was shaved away. 

This is tame in comparison to many, but still makes a point. Notice the close-ups. These were brilliant white before this race. All pieces on this page were clean and freshly painted prior to the race in Las Vegas, 9/25/04.

The flaps below mount above the white rear main above. Notice where the stickers were removed, how bright red it is. But even there, it isnt pretty by any means. See close-ups for the damage.

The front wing parts below were all painted the day before this damage was done. It was all brand new parts and brand new paint. They are resting on the sidepods, but the pieces wount to various areas of the front wing. Easy to see what was aluminum and what was carbon, eh?

This sidepod may not look bad, but trust me, it is. Its been cleaned up a bit in this picture, but the only reason it doesnt look like the peices above is due to a thick, clear tape called Heli-Tape. It helps protect the car, but its heavy and time consuming to put on, not to mention it doesnt really protect the paint, just the carbon. When the heli-tape is removed, the paint comes off everywhere it is damaged.