Been waiting for the weather to get nicer so a buddy of mine who does a lot of paint work on the side could get my car painted. Dropped it off Thursday night and he's done already. If I didn't know any better I'd say it came from the factory like this.
Looks really good, he did a solid job. I wouldn't consider the handles though, I think the lighting feature on the handles really makes the car stick out at night when you park on a public street haha.
If I had the lighted handles I think I would have considered tinting them (spray tint or something) and see if it would still look good as well as be functional.
Tint is 30%. Very overcast today so it looks pretty dark.
Yea I got the 30% as well but I put 25% on the back windsheild and if its not sunny out it really gets dark. Looks good though. I got confused from your fogs I didn't look too hard, those are retrofit?
yeah the dealer installed them for me as a "sorry our service dept / sales guy you had was so terrible" peace offering. (I bought the parts from another dealer online and they installed at no cost).
Contemplated it, but I have the black chrome trim on the back and actually didn't want to go all murdered out. The black chrome adds just enough black without it looking like it was painted like the rest of the car which is good for what I wanted.
It was scuffed completely and very meticulously so that he didn't miss even a tiny spot, then cleaned with a degreasing solvent before he put down an acrylic urethane basecoat. He didn't foresee any issue with it lasting and said it should last as long as the car does. I can only hope, but I don't see why it wouldn't.
Not real easy to see, but this was after scuffing it up.
That front license plate is killing the whole look. In my state you have to have a front license plate but if you keep it in your car then put it on your dash if you get pulled over its fine. The dealer here never installed the front holder but stated if my wife wanted it installed they just drill/drive screws into the bumper. My wife asked me & I told me if it was my car I would not do it but, its hers so she can do what ever she wants. So she did not have them F-up her car.
yes the plate sucks. Nothing I can do about it and as far as killing the look, it still looks better to me than the chrome trim everywhere especially with gunmetal wheels.
yes the plate sucks. Nothing I can do about it and as far as killing the look, it still looks better to me than the chrome trim everywhere especially with gunmetal wheels.
You're car looks great...yeah front plates suck, don't agree it's "killing your car", some states have laws that suck, and your state is one. So I'll have to disagree with last post, and say even with a tag on the front, your car still looks great.
Looks awesome! I've got a red ATS. I can't stand my chrome handles. Just dropped mine to get the grille and window trim vinyl wrapped. I color matched the V on the rear bumper and the orange side markers
Vinyl wrapped window and grill trim, plasti dipped wheels and Cadillac emblems (ATS and 2.0T badges removed), painted chrome V on rear bumper and orange side markers. Just need to paint the chrome handles next.
i'm confused about this car....judging by the lightblade this car is a performance or premium, but both those trims have lighted handles, so is this a luxury with upgraded lights? or perf/prem with no lighted handles? and is it possible AWD deleted the handles? anyhow that car is very very nicecongrats
Well done, Carpenter. This looks VERY clean and very mean.. Props to your paint guy too, the handles aren't an easy task... My wrap company who did my car couldn't do the entire handles, partly because of the LED portion on my handle. Nice choice on wheel color too!
Well I'm not sure if you read through the whole thread. It didn't last at all despite the prep work. It chipped after only a few weeks. I had it wrapped later. That was actually my old car. I have a new ATS now with the illuminated handles, but my wrap guy had no trouble wrapping them. I had everything wrapped and then had the LED centers of the handles lightly tinted. You really can't tell there is any light loss at night. Still nice and bright. Everything wrapped was only $260. Very reasonable.
(Part of the handle here on the left side looks like metal, but it's just a reflection. It's all wrapped)
Also had the mirrors and side markers done as well. Filthy pic here.
ive had my grill and front trims painted and its still holding up btw....i keep looking at it with paranoia expecting it to chip. but its been like 4 months now and still fine.
I'm 99% sure mine was chipping because of the salt and sand, snow ice, etc) that gets kicked up from cars in front on the highway. It was done in the winter time in a heated shop, but that salt and sand on the roads here can be pretty brutal. I didn't have any chips or anything on the door handles or window trim, but the front was pretty chipped after only a few weeks. Had I known from the start how cheap and good vinyl wrapping looked I would have just done that instead and saved time and money of having to redo it. I was hoping the paint would work though.
bryce it's a pretty big pain and takes a good bit of time, but if you're needing to do it, there are a lot of clips and if you can lift it that would save you a lot of time. I changed my grill out in June so my memory of the details are vague, but IMPE take your time and be patient with it and you'll be fine.
To each their own, I ordered black chrome vinyl and plan to wrap the grill trim, the rear bumper applique, the window trim, and the door handles...Think the black chrome will look good against the black diamond finish
I see you've retro-fitted those fog lights, can you share with where you got those fog lights and the covers next to the fog lights? Also, did you HID upgrade the fog lights? ...as you can tell, I am rather interested . Thanks!
this is sick!!! I noticed the wisconsin plate, but i live in the MKE area and im about the pick my ats up in a couple days.
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