Like I mentioned before, my wife hated the car when I bought it. I already had one "old" car - my Pro-Touring Monte SS - so she thought I was crazy to get another one. I, however, saw the potential beneath the dog fur and severely lacquer-checked paint. I wanted the car to look good, but I'm on a budget, so that led me to Maaco. A friend of mine recommended that I try one he dealt with and after speaking with the owner, I decided to have it painted there. He was willing to work with me, and I was very impressed by the paintwork on a few cars sitting in the garage.
To get it ready for paint, I removed the hood trim, fenderwell trim, headlight bezels, and grilles. Once they got it, they stripped most of it to bare metal and re-primed it since the original paint was useless as a base.
I also had them repair the dents in the front fenders, remove the pinstripes and most of the emblems, and fill the holes in the front bumper cover where the Oldsmobile script was.
The Salon was repainted in a urethane version of its original dark metallic blue. I opted for the four-year warranty paint to ensure a great shine, but they told me with proper maintainence, there's no reason this paintjob won't last for many years. I was very happy with the job they did!
Returning Home! 11 - 20 - 2002
Here's a rear shot of the car on its way home from Maaco. Looks much better!
I still had to re-install the trim, but wanted to get some pictures of the fine job they did.
I really like this shot...no more pinstripes or trunk script!
Click here to see some final pics of the Cutlass with new paint.