Paul J. Gonzales

In 1958 Paul was desperate for a job and answered an ad for manager-trainees for Earl Scheib. "I was an Airmen Mechanic wannabe in the Navy and knew jack about auto paint and bodywork," Paul told Sondre Kvip of Kustomrama in 2015. "We had to learn from the bottom up, they were still using lead then. The shop was on Hope Street in Los Angeles. I was trained for management. I did well and was soon a supervisor of four to five shops. He promoted me to the Mid-West, but I refused and resigned. That's when I met old man Louis Hennig." In the mid 1960s Paul J. Gonzales left his job as Supervisor at the Earl Scheib Auto Paint Company to work for Louis Hennig Auto and Truck Painting. "Hennig owned a large production shop in Anaheim right across the 5 freeway from Disneyland." Vic Homeres, a bonified old school bodyman, followed Paul about a month later. Paul believes Bill Carter came to run their custom shop in the early 1970s. "Bill came to work for us when he was young and we knew he would move on. I think he painted the Rolls Royce that sat in front of the House of Wax in Buena Park Gold Metalflake. He actually did shaded enamel paint jobs." Vic passed away in 2013, 92 years old. "One day we actually took in 110 cars for paint and body. I left the business in 1978 but have a lot of fond memories." While managing a shop in Beverly Hills for Earl, Paul painted George Hamilton's Rolls or Bentley British Racing Green, "for $29.95 and charged him $15.00 to paint the fenders black."