When I needed to paint a custom, fade paintjob on my old race car, I had a really hard time finding a shop who could do it (I am in Boston area). After asking around, I found a bodyshop who specialized in custom/show cars (mostly imports and sport compacts). They never did a fade job before, but were ready for a challenge:
I know that the scheme is not for everyone, but I think it came out pretty good. They are known as one of the best customs shops in the area.
However, they can't make it on custom work alone! They end up taking quite a few insurance repairs to make the ends meet.