If you could get into your time machine and travel back a half century, you might happen to run into Vern Stevenson’s local hardware store, where you would find the usual array of things you might need to fix up the place. But what you also might find is that Vern knew a thing or two about paint, to the point that Sherwin Williams asked him if he might be interested in also carrying automotive paint. Heck, why not? Pretty soon, the Sherwin Williams representative, Bill Christiansen, found that he’d rather work with Vern than at the big company, and automotive paint became the “thing” at the store. After Vern decided to put his feet up and relax, he sold the store to Bill, who ran the business until he found himself with the same goal as Vern, so he in turn sold the store to his sons Richard and Mike.

All this history comes down to one thing – after half a decade of answering people’s questions, a trip to Stevenson’s Paint is still a really good idea if you’re going to paint that fancy ride you have. And for the past three years, the brothers have been taking and fulfilling orders for paint right here at the Pomona Swap Meet! For example, let’s say you want to paint your car a nice candy color with beautiful metal flake or, perhaps, some pearlescence in the color. The Christiansen brothers will be happy to provide you with a solution to that. Part of that solution includes answering questions before you put the first drop of paint on that soon-to-be fancy ride. “We’re happy to share tips and techniques. We walk them through the process and give them tips. You can walk out of here with $1,000 worth of stuff – why let them mess it up?,” said Richard Christiansen. One of the many reasons customers flock to Stevenson’s Paint, is that their prices are very competitive, too. Good advice and a fair price.

While the store has been here for half a century selling paints to the car people; brother Mike has been there for over half that time having come aboard in 1984. Nine years later, his brother Richard signed up for work and hasn’t left since. They bring their dad’s experience with them as well, so you can be sure that you’ll get a good answer to your question or maybe even find they can give you a tip about something you haven’t even thought of yet.

Now let’s talk about that ride, shall we? Some of us car folks want to put a finish on our rides that’s so shiny you won’t need your mirror in the morning to shave – just step out into the garage. There are also more and more people who are choosing to paint up that machine so it looks like it just got primered and that’s it. Richard talked to us about this process and said that it used to be that people would just primer a car and they were done, but primers aren’t designed to withstand the elements like paint is. So, today, there are paints available that look just like primer but are designed to withstand all the rigors of a proper paint. What’s more, you can get these primers in a whole bunch of different colors, so if you’re like this writer, and your wife wants to paint her ‘60 Corvair in purple primer to match the animal print interior, Stevenson’s paint can hook you up. What can you do?  – A pin-up doll should drive what she wants.

So, if you’re looking for old-fashioned good advice about the most modern paints and you want to buy that paint at a competitive price, your next trip to the Pomona Swap Meet should include a stop at Stevenson’s Paints. You will find them on Road 24, Spaces 15 & 17. You can even contact them in advance, at 310.834.5244 and your paint can be waiting for you right at the show. Now that’s a piece of good advice right there.

This article was written by Tony Barthel from the Curbside Auto Column and Car Show Calendar. For auto articles, news and an on-line calendar of automotive events, please visit www.curbside.tv.

Stevenson’s Paint swap space out at the PSM

Stevenson’s Paint