It may be farther than you want to send your car, but the hottest custom painter in the southeast is a guy named David Johnston in Phenix City, Alabama. He paints a lot of dragsters and custom motorcycles. He's painted four of my motorcycles, one truck, one Camaro and a P.T. Cruiser for me. Does excellent work at a reasonable price.
About vinyl.................I had vinyl "skunk stripes" on a 99 Camaro. They were professionally applied. They looked great for about two years, then the edges started curling up. I spoke with David about this and he suggested that if I insisted on using vinyl, they really should be clear coated to prevent discoloration (using a UV protectant) and to prevent the curling. Personally, if I couldn't have the stripes painted, I wouldn't do it. Folks say if you don't like the vinyl stripes you can have them removed.......WRONG. Once the vinyl is down, the longer it stays on, the more likely you'll see a difference in the color underneath the stripes when you pull them off. I know, because I had the skunk stripes removed from my Camaro, only to see a darker red where the stripes were. I was fortunate enough to really like the "ghost stripe" effect that left on my car. However, in the end, I paid to get the stripes painted on. The stripes were on the hood and rear deck lid only, and cost me $1,000.................that was 5 years ago.
Good luck. | 
Good Painter In Atlanta, GA area? 
