My latest project(s)

[Fishincricket]

So this thread was supposed to be about my 1990 Firebird:
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It's a survivor, a 74k miler with factory t-tops and such.. But whomever did the most recent paint job did some crap work... Good from far, but FAR from good.

Turns out there were actually horrible runs in the paint and some really poor sanding work... More than I know to do, so I put that on hold and glazed the bird... Not much to report! :(
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But then I bought this 2002 Deville:
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It has some messy body scratches that I was intending to teach myself how to wets and with.. So I washed it and waxed it (845):
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And just when I was positive that I would be getting into fixing the scratches down the side I stumble across (read "took on trade"):
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an even nicer 2004 in the venerable white lightning paint scheme with the cooled seats and such.. But you wouldn't BELIEVE how this poor Cadillac has been cared for on the outside!
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Sap galore! But newer, less miles and a cheap upgrade...

So out with the old, in with the new! I'm looking forward to sharing this project with you guys, and the 1990 Firebird, which will not be getting a paint correction.........



...... but a plastidip coating!

[Setec Astronomy]

Cricket!!!! Where have you been???

[Fishincricket]

Same place, just staying busy selling cars and such... Deciding how to best spend my wife's hard earned cash.. ;)

[Fishincricket]

Been doing a few things though, Ivan still gets bored...

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[Setec Astronomy]

Well, we missed you.

Have you driven one of those ELR's yet? If so, how are you selling its, um...low-VOLTage performance in comparison to the rest of the stable? Or is the market for that car not expecting Cadillac power levels?

[Setec Astronomy]

Been doing a few things though, Ivan still gets bored...

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LOL...as I remember there are only 2 of you...how big is the other guy's pile??

Good job though, great to have you back on the forum!

[damaged442]

How do you know the Formula was painted? They had paint like that from the factory! LOL!! Nice bird though! Please don't Plasti Dip it! :props:

[Fishincricket]

Damaged, you haven't seen what plastidip can do to a car, you guys aren't gonna see this coming...

As for the factory paint? You can find it in places, it was blue... At least previously, it was.. But the hood has what appear to be 400 grit sand marks, soooo... lol

[Fishincricket]

LOL...as I remember there are only 2 of you...how big is the other guy's pile??

Good job though, great to have you back on the forum!

Yeah, that's not my whole pile...
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And we have a couple guys now... ;)

[Fishincricket]

Well, we missed you.

Have you driven one of those ELR's yet? If so, how are you selling its, um...low-VOLTage performance in comparison to the rest of the stable? Or is the market for that car not expecting Cadillac power levels?

Very kind of you to say...

Cadillac wanted a BUNCH of money and commitments out of the dealer in order to participate in the ELR program. We have elected to let everyone else cut each other's throats in that one, we're staying out of it for a while. :(

[Setec Astronomy]

Yeah, that's not my whole pile...

Another month or two and they are going to have to get you a bigger cubicle!


Cadillac wanted a BUNCH of money and commitments out of the dealer in order to participate in the ELR program. We have elected to let everyone else cut each other's throats in that one, we're staying out of it for a while. :(

Yeah, it's a bit of a head-scratcher, take a Volt and gussie it up and double the price, it may have the Cadillac luxury/convenience bits, but the powertrain and AFAIK the chassis is all Volt. And it's gotta be even heavier than a Volt.

A bit like that Lexus 5-door hatch that is a Prius underneath...hard to sell the luxury/performance aspect when it has the performance of ... a Prius. I think you guys were smart to sit on the sidelines for that one, even with the rumored improvements to the upcoming second-gen Volt, I think full electric is still going to be a limited market, and hybrids, despite the inherent inefficiency of having two powertrains, are going to become the norm...at least for a decade or more until/unless the battery technology has a step change and a larger percentage of the electric grid is supplied by renewables.

[Fishincricket]

The fact that we are in a small town in the middle of Missouri (around 15,000 people to be exact) definitely played a part in our decision to not get into that extremely limited market... At least right now.

Without slinging too much mud at corporate I can certainly say that the bigger dealers will receive preferential treatment, so we might have paid all of that money to only get one ELR a year anyway... :(

So, the white lightning paint looks SOOO much better already...
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Still a LOT of work to do... Stay tuned!

[Fishincricket]

So, this Ol caddy is pretty mint! But it's got a couple issues... Like a peeling grill:
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a bad chunk taken out of the bumper:
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And of course swirls galore, though photos of swirls on this color are a lil difficult for my iPhone camera..

Speaking of the color, I was wrong.. I was SURE it was White Lightning tint-coat but it turns out it's White Gold Tri-Coat... Either way it's pretty! I'm still debating on removing the pinstripe, but I probably will...
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[Fishincricket]

Interior is great:
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but a few stains:
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[Setec Astronomy]

White Lightning, White Gold...I thought it was White Diamond?