Summer showtime!

It probably seemed like a good idea at the time. Head down to the park or Main Street and check out the cool cars gathered at the show.

Then it happens. You rub a fender with your watch. You drop your bike against a door. Your 80-pound dog jumps up on the other door, paws flailing. And your kids start climbing on the hood.

And then what?

Actually, custom painter Serge Leger knows exactly what.

“You’re looking at maybe $8,000-$12,000 for a high end paint job.

“And if it’s really custom and a repair can’t be made to match, you have to paint the whole car.”

Gulp. That’s a big bill to swallow, but one that can be avoided like the plague by keeping some of the key unwritten rules of attending car shows in mind.

We all know not to touch, but that must be taken a step further, and that’s to keep the potential of disaster as low as possible.

Only bring what you need. Lock your bike to a tree away from the cars and push a stroller, well away from the vehicle, with care. Don’t lean on anything. Don’t rest your hand on anything. Don’t get ketchup on anything.

“Don’t touch means don’t touch,” says Paul Bourque, who routinely shows his green 1969 Chevrolet Camaro when the weather cooperates.

“But a big, big majority of people are great at car shows.”

However, there was this one time . . .

“A guy actually opened the door and sat at the wheel.”

It’s hard to believe, but there are some people out there who give every showgoer a bad name.

It’s why Leger, who shows his heavily reworked megabuck 750-horsepower Nissan 350Z, ropes off his rolling masterpiece whenever possible.

Sometimes you can’t, he says, like at outdoor shows where it looks ridiculous to rope off a vehicle, and that means owners need to be on guard and that showgoers need to understand what’s at stake.

“It’s a respect thing. If people knew how much time and money goes into these cars . . . and that you ended up in a fight with your girlfriend over it . . .”

Then, spectators might be more careful?

“Next to my family, it’s my second love.”

So, when someone drives a stroller into a fender, owners can become a little hot under the collar.

On the flip side, Bourque is equally annoyed with people who bring their cars to shows and then hide.

“They sit in lawn chairs in circles chatting among each other and when someone comes over to talk, it’s almost like they’re imposing.

“That really annoys me. If you’re at a car show, show your car.

“Car shows are entertainment and you’re part of the entertainment.”

Answering questions, often the same ones over and over, is part of what taking a car to a show is all about.

“If you don’t like doing that, then don’t take your car.”

Conversely, Bourque says spectators need to mind their manners and watch their tongues.

“A real hotrod guy doesn’t judge other peoples’ cars because even though you might not agree with what has been done to a vehicle, no matter the brand, you have to respect that it’s their car and it’s built the way they want with whatever funds are available.”

“You know, we don’t bring cars to shows for judgement by people who haven’t done any of the work or spent any money on them.

It’s a respect thing, alright, and not just for spectators.

Bourque is quick to point out that it’s important for kids to come to shows to see their history and become interested in the hobby. And it’s up to the car owners to help educate. But, he adds, they can’t do that unless parents actually do some parenting.

“I don’t blame any small child for they way they behave in public or around a $100,000 car. I blame the parents when something goes wrong.

“Kids are just kids. They need to be constantly reminded to keep off things. It’s just what kids do. But this isn’t a muddy-shoes-off-the-clean-floor thing. There are no second chances.”

But just as it takes something small to ruin your day, it only takes something small to make it a great one. And, yes, flattery will get you everywhere.

“One time, a guy came over and asked if he could take a picture of the car. A couple of weeks later he came back with a tattoo of it on his arm.

“You’ve gotta love that.”

Surviving a show

This isn’t really all that complicated as long as do what your mother told you and mind your manners.

1) Don’t touch anything, even if the owner of the vehicle is touching.

2) By all means bring the kids but be aware that a car show is a “show.” (Look, don’t touch.) Keep close contact. Even a small scratch can be expensive. Car owners should make the effort to chat up the kids.

3) Never ask, “how much is your car?” Instead ask, “roughly how much would it take to build a similar car?”

4) If you’re showing your vehicle, chat up the people who come by instead of sitting in a chair and doing a crossword.

5 If someone is taking a picture, be courteous and ask if they would like one with the hood up. And every now and then, for your real fans, ask if they would like a picture of themselves behind the wheel. You’ve just earned your stripes as a good-will ambassador.

It’s a snap!

Taking pictures is a natural thing at a car show, but there are a couple of ways to make them better.

1) Standing too close and using a wide-angle lens distorts the image and makes the vehicle appear unnatural. Get back far enough so that you don’t have to use any wide angle at all.

2) Get used to using the flash in broad daylight. A good trick is to put the sun behind the vehicle (position yourself) and flash the shaded side. Dark cars on bright days usually require flash from any angle. If you can’t put the sun where you want it, wait until later in the day.

3) Lower the camera to about waist height for better perspective.

4) If there’s a picture you want and can’t get, ask the owner. We’ve never been turned down to lift a hood or open a door.

5) The best pictures are usually at the very end of the show when the crowds have thinned (few heads in the way) and when the sun is lower in the sky (warmer light).

6) Filling the viewfinder with the subject always makes for better pictures with a tighter focus.

Jeff Melnychuk is Wheelbase Communications’ managing editor. He can be reached on the Web at : www.wheelbase.ws/mailbag.html. Wheelbase Communications supplies automotive news and features to newspapers and Web sites across North America.