I know I've been asking a lot of questions lately, and the advice here has been outstanding, especially from Jason.   Than you all!
I want to have my de Ville repainted in the original Aspen White paint color. It needs it.
I got my first estimate today from a recommended paint shop (along with some minor body work to take the dings out) in Aspen White (no clear coat) for about $12,000 (which will take about three months).
The shop owner explained that clear coat was not generally used in 1964 and clear coat can peel over time (i.e. "car cancer"), and did not recommend that I put clear coat on the car.  (Years ago, I had a black Yukon with clear coat which came off in places after about a decade).
The shop will take it down to primer level or metal (as necessary) and take off much of the chrome trim, head and tail lights, bumpers, etc. before painting.  Because I am painting the car the same color, I am not having the door jams, inside the trunk, or inside the hood painted. 
I have never had a car painted before, much less my Cadillac!  I am unsure of the cost, though, and would like to know your thoughts about the costs and time.  I live in Southern California (Huntington Beach) and expect the price to be a bit higher than what it might be elsewhere.  Also, I'm not looking for a "Concourse" show car paint job, but a very nice paint job on an every weekend driver.. 
Thank you all, again.
Mike Vogler

Views: 216

Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Tony,

Well that figures!  Nothing is easy.  Thanks for the heads up.  Do you have a paint recommendation?

Mike

Perhaps the shop will work with you and do sections of the car at a time tackling the worst sections first.  I have a fantastic local shop but as Mark noted insurance work is their bread and butter replacing plastic parts with plastic parts on newer cars after a quick spray.  That is sad because my guy is really good with the old metal bodied cars ... but he had to make a living and fully understand. With that he agreed to break my car down and do it in about 4 different sections. This took about a year and a half. I also agreed to pull all the trim and bumpers off that section as needed except the window reveal trim.  With that approach I would usually have the car to shop on a given Monday and pick up that following weekend.  While it took about 1.5 years it worked out great by spreading out my expenses, and allowing my guy to really concentrate on a specific area as we can. We are current doing my 2002 Escalade EXT in that manner. He recently painted the hood and the top and waiting for a call to bring in for the next state.  The EXT is black which is an easy match. The Sierra Gold took a few trial runs on the 1st attempt but once they had the formula down pat it was easy going for remainder sections of car.

With daily driver accidents most people want their car back ASAP, but if you explain to painter you are not in that big of a hurry, they might agree to paint in stages as they did mine. Of course you don't want to use a here today, gone tomorrow operation and want to use a reputable established paint shop. My shop has been in business since 1958 and run by original owners son for the last 25 years.  
 

Mike

I also live in Orange County, CA and will be looking to have my family's '64 Sedan DeVille to be painted in the coming years. It still has the original Aspen White too and is finally showing rust (garaged most of its life). Piece of information for ya, a body shop in Long Beach, CA (8+ years ago) told my dad that if he still wanted the original lacquer-based '64 paint he would have to either get it himself from Arizona, for example, or have a relative bring some out this way on a trip. My dad really wanted it to be the original lacquer even though the body shop owner said that today's enamel (mineral spirit-based) paints are so good that all that effort getting the out-of-state paint likely wasn't worth it.

I'm hoping you post follow-up information as you progress through your paint process. Curious who you end up using and what you experienced with that shop.

Rob

Hi Rob,  I’ll keep you posted.  Love to see your SDV and say hello.  Let’s meet at Donut Derelicts sometime.

Mike

Hi Mike

I’ll PM you sometime and yes let’s make that happen. My SDV will be heading into the shop soon for some carb tuning and a few other issues. 
Rob

RSS

Photos

  • Add Photos
  • View All

Forum

Modern radio antenna …

Started by Mack in 1963/64 Cadillac Specific Discussion on Tuesday. 0 Replies

Just replaced radios for the modern radios with Bluetooth and all the dance things and wanted to share how I went around the antenna knob… I’ve installed a regular two way GM window switch in the…Continue

BOOT

Started by John Inglesby in 1963/64 Cadillac Specific Discussion. Last reply by Marty Smith on Tuesday. 1 Reply

I recently purchased a new boot for my 64 convertible and was wondering how difficult it s to install. I'm not very mechanical. It looks like the chrome piece behind and at top of seats needs to be…Continue

63 Exhaust Hanger Mystery

Started by Mike Travers in 1963/64 Cadillac Specific Discussion. Last reply by Cees de Bunje on Monday. 8 Replies

I'm in the process of installing a stainless steel single exhaust from Classic Exhaust on my '63 Coupe de Ville. I'm running into a mystery regarding my middle exhaust bracket. I have the bracket…Continue

TH400 Dipstick Tube Seal

Started by Logan Robb in 1963/64 Cadillac Specific Discussion. Last reply by Logan Robb on Monday. 9 Replies

In my “rebuild” of the transmission, I ordered a dipstick tube seal. However, I’m not sure if the right one came or how to best install the seal. I am wondering if anyone has replaced this seal OR…Continue

Blog Posts

Loud air moving sound within carb with cleaner removed

Posted by Dave Fehrle on March 23, 2024 at 3:23pm 8 Comments

While checking my Carter carb with engine running, I took the air cleaner off and there was a very loud hissing sound of air. I placed a piece of paper over the carb and it didn’t move up or down, is this normal?

Vintage Air AC

Posted by Chase on March 21, 2024 at 5:55am 0 Comments

Hey everyone, has anybody done a Vintage Air AC/Heat setup in their car? I want to bypass the old vacuum setup and go with a Vintage Air Gen 2 model. Before I get started, does anyone have any experience with this? (Which model to go with, do’s and dont’s, etc.) It looks pretty involved. Any and all info/pics would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

accumulator dryer

Posted by CHRIS CARLSON on December 6, 2023 at 10:54am 0 Comments

Who rebuilds original AC  accumulator dryers for 1964 Cadillac? I have been on Classic auto air in Tampa FL wait list for over a year ,  There is one on Old air products web site that looks very similar to the original # 21-4214A but states it fits 1962 Gm cars, The one recommended for a 1964 Cadillac is half the length 21-4215A    What  is everyone using ? I would prefer to be as original as possible. Thanks

'63 Eldorado trumpet horn + 2 standard horns restoration

Posted by Les Eastling on November 15, 2023 at 10:34am 1 Comment

My son, unbeknownst to me, had all three of the horns on our 1963 Eldorado completely restored. We had recently added the Eldorado trumpet horn to the two standard horns and the sound was not very good... we had heard good ones so we knew something was not right... but there was not much we could do to get better sound from the 3 horns. 

There is a restoration service called The Horn Works who my son…

Continue

Videos

  • Add Videos
  • View All

© 2024   Created by Jason Edge.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service