It may be sacrilegious what I did by some peoples standards here but I had a rough Bruce Gordon Chinook that had many spots like these:
Bruce Gordon Chinook 1987 Plum
Bruce Gordon Chinook 1987 Plum
And had it powder coated it to this:
87 Bruce Gordon Chinook
87 Bruce Gordon Chinook
All in all cost me about $220 for powder coating (Groody Brothers), acquiring decals (Alan Wanta), a clear coat over that (GB), and some little red touches (GB). I'm happy I did it, and still need to build the frame up, and would rate powder coating 8 out of 10 compared to what was originally a wet spray paint job. If you just get a straight color and clear coat it would have been only in the $140 range which I think is just fine too. I got my wife's bike done at the same time and it was just one color and clear coat, and it made a HUGE difference in how well the frame looked. Don't know if that helps at all but I went through this and really have no regrets.
If you are anywhere near KC, then use Groody Bros they do a great job:
Groody Brothers