KD Aviation, above and on cover, has some of the best sprayers in the business at two shops,in New Jersey and New York.

There aren’t many certainties in the realm of aircraft maintenance, but we can think of at least one: Not every pilot knows a good paint job when he sees it, but anyone can spot a 100-footer that looks nice from across the ramp but is a speckled, orange-peeled mess when viewed at close range. Fortunately, there aren’t many of those.

In fact, according to the findings of our most recent paint shop survey, there may be fewer paint shops to pick from than there were a decade ago, but the shops appear to be turning out better work or at least providing better customer service. That means that finding a good…