For 42 years Dennis Syverston has worked at the same small paint shop in Pukekohe – and the custom vehicle community couldn’t be happier! He began cleaning up after school, started his apprenticeship at 15 years old and has since established an enviable reputation for outstanding paintwork. After purchasing the business in 1980, to create Dennis Syverston Car Painters, it grew to employ as many as six staff. However, without a panel repair side Dennis knew his business would struggle to continue doing insurance work. As a result, he decided to diversify into specialised paint jobs and these days Dennis is a one-man-band working on restorations, hot rods and custom cars.

“My customers come from all over the place. This old-school type work is something a lot of painters don’t like doing but I enjoy it. At the moment I have a couple of Mustangs in the shop, along with a 1936 Rolls-Royce and a New York Taxi. There are a couple of really good panel beaters who do the resto work and the car usually arrives here as a bare shell on a rotisserie – 90% are taken back to bare metal. Once I’ve done the paintwork it goes away for assembly before coming back for its final polish and detail.”

Although he doesn’t see himself as a perfectionist, Dennis says he’s prepared to do whatever is required to ensure his customers are happy. Every job is different and the key is sitting down with the customer to determine exactly what they want – from an everyday driver to a top shelf show car – before the job starts. With the support of his local distributor, Automotive Paint Supplies Ltd, Dennis made the switch to Protec late in 2012 and since then he hasn’t looked back.

“I decided to give Protec a try and the first job was a repaint on a black 1965 Mustang. That car was entered into a big concourse show and it won – the owner was absolutely stoked! The Paraglaze Tinter System is awesome but I also look for good primers and clearcoats – the Paraglaze Clearcoat is to die for! I’m really, really happy with Protec. It’s a simple system and simple things just work and I don’t need lots of products on the shelf to make it work. ”

Even at 56 years of age, Dennis can usually be found at work by 6.30AM. Although he doesn’t know exactly what the future holds, he reckons there are no thoughts of retirement just yet. “This isn’t really a job to me – I enjoy it so I don’t find it a chore to come to work.”