We've all been here....

[electra225]

I hate to see articles like this. On one hand, $3500 for body and paint on a Cadillac is dirt cheap. That should have been the first red flag. Painting the car together should be the second red flag. It was painted in pieces at the factory, then assembled. Paint and "normal" body work, dings and dents, then painted should be a MINIMUM of $20,000. I've never seen bubbles like that, but I'm guessing some kind of contamination. It is hard to feel sorry for the owner. He should have known better. In fairness, the paint doesn't look that bad considering it's a MAACO job. You can see the incomplete preparation when you see the shot around the door lock. They painted over the old paint. Too bad they messed up on a nice Cadillac otherwise. It is a "20-footer" at best. Who knows what kind of contamination was in the old paint. Painting it again, again over old paint, doesn't fix anything. The comment was made the cause was moisture. You'd think it would dry out over time. With the orange peel in the paint, one might guess silicone contamination.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=inOng9on__w

[hermitcrab]

you think he is cheap?... I painted a little dodge omni 024 from white to gray in a borrowed garage with no electrical except via an extension cord that kept blowing the circuit breaker every 5 mins of the compressor running...took me about a hour longer than it should and the borrowed garage was needed ... so I drove the car home .... during cottonwood season.... the paint looked great!... the white fuzz all over it on the other hand looked like it needed a shave... by the time I sanded the cotton off of it , I had to paint it again...ah.... good times...

[19&41]

It's like the old saying goes, preparation is everything.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtjdHaMeiiQ

[TC Chris]

Maaco is where you take a beat-up old car for a quick dusting of enamel to make it look better for a couple years. It is not where you take a classic. It's like having a fancy wedding reception catered by McDonald's.

Chris Campbell

[electra225]

It would take Art almost two years to do the body and paint on a typical restoration. We always informed the client that if they were not ready to spend from $20,000 to $50,000 on paint and body, don't bother bringing it in. Maaco didn't remove any of the chrome or trim. There is rust and contamination under those items. Not only was the owner unreasonable in expecting a quality paint job for that kind of money, but Maaco would have done well to inform the owner that a paint job like he expected is out of their wheelhouse. The guy got a $3500 paint job. For a quality show paint job, the materials would cost more than $3500.....

The victim in this is the poor old Cadillac. It deserves a nice paint job.

Rex is right on the money about prep. Preparation is 80% of the cost of a paint job.

[walyfd]

YIKES!!! They didn't even remove the mirrors!!! Shame on the OWNER for not removing the trim or having it done. That poor Fleetwood!!! Rookie mistake for a first time old car owner but...

Couple other things... it should have a vinyl top and the Eldorado style wheel covers. Also missing the Fleetwood script on the trunk and the Fleetwood badges on the front fenders. Otherwise, the car looks straight.

Interesting to see the interior...

[electra225]

You should have laid your eyeballs on the '57 Coupe De Ville at the car show today. It had a Riviera console and steering column, just for starters. It was powered by a Chevy 350 out of a middle-'90's Chevy Caprice/ Buick Roadmaster/Cadillac Fleetwood. I will say something nice about it. The exhaust sounded nice....

[walyfd]

Sure it was a modified BUT...

I stuck my foot in my mouth at Cadillac Nationals in Chicago in 1998... there was a '58 Eldorado biarritz there with the top down, a bucket seat interior (not available until 1959), a fluted, chrome center console, a rear seat ice bucket and the hard boot had a chrome cutout... I said "who customized this car?" The owner (Warshoski--yep, THAT one who owned the Motorama junkyard) said Cadillac did it. It was one of the 4 rainsense cars that automatically closed the windows and raised the top if a drop hit the sensor in the boot...

[electra225]

There was a man at the car show that argued that Buick Electras did not have bucket seats. And he argued that they didn't have aluminum valve covers. And he argued that the bucket seats in my Electra (remember, he said they don't exist) are the same size as Chevy Impala. He would be wrong on all three counts. Bucket seats were an option on all Electra hardtop and convertible models. Center floor shift console was not an option, although mine is so equipped. Aluminum valve covers were an option on all Buick 401 and 425 cubic inch engines starting with the 1964 model year. My Electra is an extremely late 1963 model, and, in fact, has the 1964-style knobs, and dash trim. So mine can legitimately wear the "incorrect" valve covers since, technically, it was built after the 1964's came out, since it was subject to a factory order. Lastly, the "fat boy" bucket seats in my Electra were available in Buicks starting with the 1959 models. The B body and C body buckets are about an inch wider than the Chevy models. The chrome trim on the back of the seats will not swap between the two body types.

People at car shows think Electras are sedate and not subject to factory accessories. They should all be four door sedans, painted tan with single exhaust and crank windows. I had a lady tell the wife today that we had a nice Starfire. Just like the one here dad had.......

[TC Chris]

I had a lady tell the wife today that we had a nice Starfire. Just like the one here dad had.......

At least she was in the right ballpark, a big GM car. Must have been those bucket seats that misled her.

Chris Campbell

[Dr. Radio]

The tv station was even dumber for making it a story......


Wonder if that Caddy owner asks his wife; "Honey, are you in the mood for fine dining?"

"Okay, great, Denny's is of course open!"