I am working on my 1941 Chev truck. It is in original paint, well sort of. Some parts the paint are gone. I have been ***ociated with this truck since the early 70's when it was the family farm truck. Here is the story from a past post https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum...ruck-41-chev-long-read.1195381/#post-13606588 I am taking a few small bits of rust out and want to keep it in original paint for the time being. I have a old grill for it and am taking out most of the bad dents. I know some will say paint it, and I may well do down the track. It has a lot of childhood memories looking like this. The logic I am using is, if I paint it it will take about 70 years to get back looking like it does. If I decide I want a change I can paint it. To be honest, even if I was offered a free paint job by a top painter I probably would not take up the offer at this point in time. It took a lot of thought to get to this point. I will be doing the inner guards and under the floor in a satin black. I have read about linseed oil and penetrol but most only show the job when it is finished and are happy with the results. I would like to here from those that have used this long term. Did you regret it? Did it go yellow with age? Did it turn into a brittle sticky mess that would attract dust at 50 feet? I would also be keen to here about wax's or home made wax's that hold up well. I don't need or want some super high tech wax that you can see your face in. The original paint was never that shiny as the Australian Army did not seem to like high gloss trucks in the field in 1941. I am not trying to do anything fake. The truck lived in a dry inland climate of Australia for most of its life. The wife is not keen on moving to the desert so I am after something to slow the aging process in a more humid climate. I will be putting sign writing on the door. My fathers name plus our property name and our original party line phone number. Thanks Steve from down under
Don't know anything about this process, but if you go this route, be extremely careful with the rags with the linseed oil on them. They will spontaneous combust fast if not stored or deposed of properly. Steel container with a lid is the way to go. Good luck with the project !
Penetrol - im interested in its use for long term metal protection. I recently bought some as an oil based paint conditioner for brushing and learned its made in Australia and used as a metal conditioner, havent seen it used in the US for that application. Is it common in AUS for long term metal protection? How does it compare to Gibbs?
Ive been using danish oil for patina / metal protection, and also use it on wood. Very similar to linseed oil except its a blend of oils and dries faster. I also use it to shoot inside door and body cavities for rust protection. Dries to a hard film, just like it does on furniture. I also use johnsons paste wax (floor wax) for patina protection. Heavy carnuba pate wax. It does have turpentine in it so test if it effects the existing paint. I dont have a patina vehicle, use it on other worn original paint items, vintage tools, cabinets, equipment that I want to protect. I would love to find a worn paint vehicle, living on midwest US, they all have holes in the body.
https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/how-to-reveal-patina-under-surface-rust.953854/ If youve not seen threads on CLR calcium lime rust remover, these are pretty interesting. Not sure whats available in your area, can likely match up a similar product by ingredients.
If you want it to look like it does now, then don't do anything to it. If you do notice it degrading faster than you'd like, after it's been in it's new climate for a while, then consider doing something. But you won't be able to keep it looking as it has, if you put anything on the surface. In other words, don't fix it if it ain't broke.
Ospho will stop the rust but it makes the remaining paint peel off. I know this because I used some on surface rust spots on the hood of my truck. Penetrol makes everything shiny but eventually it completely dries and does not protect as well as clear paint. I know thus because I used it on a steel mailbox and stand I built several years ago. The whole thing is covered in surface rust now, although it took a couple years to form and it is outside 24/7. Sent from my SM-G981V using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
The Johnsons floor wax sounds interesting. I would like to here more. My thinking is it sounds like a heavy duty car wax. If I don't like the look it should come of with wax and grease remover. Squirrel, as usual good advice. I probably should get that made into a sign and put in the shed. It is also why I am keen for long term views, I don't want to go down a path with no return and fear linseed oil may be that path. I would prefer a product that just helps slow the aging process. A bit like waxing a brand knew car. It may not need it but it may help last a few more years. Thanks Steve from down under
Parking it inside would be the way to go....they'll last forever if you take care of it. Unlike the previous decades
This is what I'm going to do to my 65 Chevy truck. I tried a small spot on a fender, it dried over night, its not sticky. Heres one guy method, works for me.
johnsons paste wax is for floors, but it is straight carnuba wax with turpentine. It is a heavier duty wax than car wax. Agree if you dont like it, it will wear off or can be removed with wax / grease remover. Since it has turpentine, test it first.
I don't know, JMO but that truck looks like ****. He may be a broke *******, but the money spent on the air suspension could have paid for an inexpensive paint job.
Thanks for the video, it did answer some of my questions. The main one that it answered is I don't want my truck to look like that. So I guess I can rule out the Linseed oil. Steve
The number one reason to stay far away from linseed oil is right here: https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/fire.1059554/#post-12024262
Any oil or wax you apply now, is going to be tough to completely remove later if you decide you want to paint it.
I personally don't agree with trying to permanently protect patina. Patina shows the history of a vehicle or object. This is both a past and ongoing process. To permanently protect, clear over, oil finish etc. over patina stops that process and in my opinion goes against the whole idea. That being said, its your vehicle and are free to do with it what you want. If I were to do something similar I would use Fluid Film which is lanolin oil based. It offers good protection and adds a little bit of gloss, but most importantly it can be removed to be painted over at a later date. Cold water in a pressure washer strips it right off. If you go the Linseed oil route do multiple thin coats. Put a layer down, lets it sit for a couple minutes, then rub off all of the excess with a clean rag. Repeat the process every day for 3 or more days. I do it on bare metal and wood all the time. Works great. If you leave too thick of a layer on it will try to cure from the outside in and make a gummy mess that takes weeks or months to somewhat harden up. As others have said, be careful with the rags. Covered metal container, or better yet burn the rags up before they get a chance to do it on their own.
I have a 1914 vehicle with original paint. In about 1970 it was covered with Penetrol and stored inside and not driven. It did protect the original paint but the stuff has yellowed looks horrible. The only thing I have found that will take it off without ruining the paint is Berkibile Carb cleaner. It dissolves a very small area when rubbed with a toothbrush and then I have about 3 seconds to remove it. Tedious job but I am happy with the result.
I responded to the linseed oil use but I can’t help responding also to the patina thing. Patina is nothing more than the signs of age and use of a car or truck and is certainly nothing to get all watery eyed over and start spouting off about history and preservation. More times than not the so called patina is a result of neglect and or abuse and a sign of an owner that couldn’t afford to maintain or refinish the vehicle or just didn’t care.
I think we are all over thinking this. CLR to clean it up a bit. Then just regular old car wax. As has been said, true patina is a sign of use and wear. “ holding” or “ maintaning” a level of patina should not be rocket Appiances!! keep it clean and rubbed with a simple car wax., if anything. Jeez even lemon pledge should work. This way, if and when you decide to paint it, 30 minutes with a pressure washer and some dawn soap and your done. This saving patina thing is almost as bad as the “ how to wash a barn find thread “ where’s the hippo boat when ya need it ?!
Just to clear up a few things for those that just read the last couple of posts and respond. In my original question I never used the word patina. I had a state school education on left school at 15 to join the Air Force. We did not do Latin. What I am trying to achieve is to stop the truck getting effected by humidity and rain when driven since it is now in a different environment. I am trying to slow the aging process. The truck was a farm truck. The dent in the front fender was poorly repaired in 1943 by the Australian Army. I have the news paper article. A lot of the paint that has been rubbed off happened because we had a bull that loved to rub against the truck. I myself contributed to some of the damage. We we carted hay and the only way to get down was on the cab roof, then the hood, fender then running board or in my native language roof, bonnet, mudguard and step. The rust that I am repairing was caused by carelessness. Dad relocated the battery from under the cab to the running board for easy jump starts and battery changes with the tractor. The running board, fender and bottom of the cab suffered. I know the drivers door won't match the truck exactly. For all of the trucks life that I know of the drivers door was not fitted. It wasted to much time opening a door to get out and open the gates. If you were quick you could go to a slow roll and jump out and get the gate open and let the truck roll through, then shut it behind. If you were not quick and fumbled with the latch the truck would bend the gate and Dad would not be happy. From then on you always came to a stop at gates. You also learnt how to straighten a gate, apparently. I am not trying to create some cool thing to take to shows. The truck is a photo album of my childhood for me. So to be clear, I am not trying to save Patina, or find out how to wash my barn find truck. The truck was not even stored in a barn. It lived in a hay shed and it was not hard to find. I looked out my childhood bedroom window and there it was from when it was parked in 1996. I evicted the family of mice, took the 10 miles of bailing twine out of it that they had been making nest with. Put 10 PSI in the original tires and winched it on a tow truck. Thanks for listening to my rant, and if you have suggestions of a wax that holds up on abused and neglected paint please let me know. Steve from down under
Nothing wrong at all with protecting bare metal from degrading worse with an oil or wax coat. The gloss clear over purposely sanded thru paint has run its course. But thats not what Reidy is asking about.
50/50 linseed oil/turpentine is the recipe I use for a wooden gate to my back yard. Annua Different strokes for different folks. Maybe someone wants to stop the process at a certain point in time and preserve it. Maybe they want to take it back to a point where it wasn't as extreme. CLR can do a great Keep in mind that these threads often grow beyond the original intent of the OP, and people read these threads from all over the internet thanks to google search engine. So, many posts are just addressing the broader topic of preserving a rusted or patina surface. Don't take it too personal. I like where you're going with this truck, keep going.
What you are wanting to accomplish and preserve is great. sorry if my post came off as insulting you, was not what I was after. what I wanted to get across was the KISS ****ogy. Keep It Simple Stupid. no need to over think this stuff usually the easiest method is also the best. Anyways Carry on.
Vandenplus, I was not insulted. I now have two good bits of advice from this thread, KISS and "If it is not broken don't fix it. Sorry about the rant, I may have gone over the top. I just don't want this to turn in a "P" word, fake ******** thread. I have also had my morning coffee now. May I ***ume that you are a Jag fan from your user name. I had a 1971 XJ6 FOR 13 years. I did briefly consider putting the spare xk motor in the chev with Jag suspension to stick it up all of the people that put chev motors in jags. I then relized I would not want to deal with all of the ******** and the truck would lose its connection with my dad. In keeping with your KISS advice I am liking the idea of floor wax. What I want is a simple product. I am not after a modern protectant that has nano technology and formulated from the tear ducts of whales. I just want something basic that will work and not look like ****. If I new bees wax would work I would use that. I have about 5 killos of the stuff that came of a hive from the family farm. I can keep it local that way. Steve
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