1973 Cadillac Touch Up Paint (21 OEM Colors)

The 1973 Cadillac Vibe

1973 was the last stand of the true American land yacht. Before the oil crisis tightened everyone's belts, Cadillac was still building the Eldorado and Deville with enough sheet metal to bridge the Mississippi. We have 21 colors in our database for this year, and looking at them is like staring at a 1970s interior design catalog. It was the era of the earth tone-heavy on the Harvest Yellow, Burnt Sienna Poly, and Laredo Tan Poly. If you weren't driving a car that looked like a moving sunset or a forest floor (shoutout to Forest Green Poly), you just weren't doing the '70s right.

Paint Health Check

Welcome to the Single Stage Era. Your 1973 Caddy was sprayed with acrylic lacquer, a paint that was thick, deep, and meant to be polished until you could see your reflection in it from a block away. But here's the reality: lacquer is a "breathing" finish. Over fifty years, the solvents that kept that Diplomat Blue Poly supple have evaporated into the atmosphere. If your paint looks like a dusty chalkboard, that's Oxidation. The pigment has literally "died" on the surface because it lacked protection. If you see tiny spiderweb cracks-what we call "checking"-that's the lacquer shrinking as it dries out. It's not peeling; it's thirsty.

Restoration Tip

When dealing with a single-stage survivor, the mantra is simple: It needs wax or it dies. Because there's no clear coat to act as a sacrificial shield, the pigment itself is the front line against the sun. Before you touch up those chips in your Saturn Bronze Firemist Poly, you need to buff away that chalky oxidation to find the true color underneath. Once you've applied your touch-up, seal the entire panel with a high-quality carnauba wax. This fills the microscopic pores of the old lacquer and keeps the remaining solvents locked in. Without a regular wax barrier, that fresh touch-up will stay bright while the rest of the car continues to fade into a ghost of its former self.