good idea to repaint an old car?

[throne7]

I can see that my 1987 260E is starting to show a few rust spots & bubbling on the body and lots of brown rusts under the hood of the car (where the grill mate with the hood). After spending a bundle fixing up the car I would like to hold on to it for a while. My thoughts now turns to keeping the body in good shape. I have thought about maybe sending it in for just painting the rust spots. Or on the other hand maybe have the whole car repainted since the rest of the body is showing its age even though these other parts are not rusting. Its surprising that the rest of the car is not rusted out. If it was my GM I think the think would have rusted all over, somehow these Benz are admirably rust resistance, and I want to keep it for years like this. So, I am wondering what issues I should be thinking about when it comes to repainting the car to look new? Is it possible after a paint job for the car to have the lustre of a new vehicle? Is a repaint job last a long time? or do u have to do it every 3 years or so? How to go about determining which body shop is a good one and which to avoid? I suppose if you take it in to a shop tthat specializes in antique car restorations you should be ok? Lets hear it from the folks who love their benz!!!