depends on the torch your are trying to keep going. One of my cars is full real Patina, but I will want it in paint eventually. Another one is really paint job but needs some touch ups and is nice and shiney regalrless The Caddy is an old Green checked laquer. I'd like to keep it the same color but sadly it a very tough color to match and the look will not match. Some of the fads go away, just like the fake Nailhead and Y-Block valve covers- but there will always be that one guy that did it and kept it that way. Just do what you like, no need to get someone's approval on kustom stuff.
The funny thing is that I bet 99% of the people bashing it don't even know that the Patina look comes from the antique motorcycle world. Many antique motorcycle guys have come over to the hot rod world. The motorcycle guys want to preserve running complete motorcycles as they find them even the top end restorers/builders. My friend Dan with a Big flathead he built a few years ago... Dan's 47 Knucklehead bobber built in the mid 50s note the old chrome and old paint... Dan's early Knucklehead drag motorcycle survivor old paint, old chrome.... and Dan's last painted in 1959 324 powered 40 Ford! Dan blows a hole in the only non-skilled, lazy people like patina theory! Jeff "Hollywood" Bear's Knucklehead which he built with using all old parts with old paint that he found at swap meets.
When out and about with my '57 Chevy, I've had a few people tell me it's a project or that it needs to be painted. But none of those people were driving anything remotely cool at the time they said that.
This guy is the one and only go-to guy when it comes to patina. No clear coats, no applying paint and then scratching and sanding most of it off again, no bullshit, just an authentic unbeatable job. All others that think they can do patina are just a bunch of pretenders. There is only one. From memory, his name is Old Fart Time, or something like that.............. No, wait, it's "Old Father Time".... that's it !!! I don't know how to contact him. Apparently you just leave stuff out for him and he will eventually get it done. He's not fast, but the result is worth waiting for. Perfect job every time. He has been working on some stuff for me. It seems to be taking forever, but I am very happy with what I am seeing. I have not had to pay for anything at all. I can't recommend this guy highly enough. I would not trust this job to anyone else...........
For any of you that care I agree with @jimmy six and @ALLDONE and this is what the truck looked like a few days ago...lots of rust to fix, worse I think, than that damn Studebaker I've massaged some dents, fixed the rust in the fenders and inner liners...and that is but a start.... but after I fix the floors and cab mounts.....I'd just as soon throw a lot of money at a lot of engine. This is the first project that my wife really likes and she can't wait to drive it...looking exactly like the first picture and you didn't even see the really dented tailgate!
On metal, patina is a coating of various chemical compounds such as oxides, carbonates, sulfides, or sulfates formed on the surface during exposure to atmospheric elements (oxygen, rain, acid rain, carbon dioxide, sulfur-bearing compounds).[2] Patina also refers to accumulated changes in surface texture and color that result from normal use of an object such as a coin or a piece of furniture over time.[3]
So in my jurisdiction you would have to patch in the holes to drive this on the road- where does that leave you- fake patina/some sort of blend/beltline down or complete paint job. I lean toward unfinished more so than overfinished… leave some potential on the table.
Cleaning up old paint rockers are being replaced. So spot repairs will happen. “Patina” creates itself over time. The blend areas will show over time. Who cares. It’s old paint An antique store nearby brush painted it’s outside display truck a few years ago. Early 50 international. Was old faded black with rust. Now it’s old faded red with rust. Looks like some old farmer brushed it decades ago. “Fake” eventually becomes real over time and lack of maintenance. even nice paint is future “patina”
Hello, For 90% of folks out there, this Chevy pickup truck has a nice patina. My wife and I saw this old truck parked in an industrial zone. For a long time, it was parked there and we thought it was going to fight the salt air forever. But, one day, it was gone and now the parking spot was empty. The owner must have started a re-do or moved it to a covered garage. That area constantly gets the afternoon/nighttime salt air incursion and there is no getting around the corrosion that comes with that daily attack. We thought a newer color Chevy truck that could have been this old “patina” truck roll down the coast highway. It was many months from the above photo to the time we saw the new paint green truck, so that was a possibility that the owner got tired of the rusty patina. But, who knows… Every time my wife and I go out on errands and check out the waves, we see this old Ford truck. It looks as if it has seen better days. But new tires accentuate the rusty patina that covers almost the whole truck. No, it does not sit in a garage. It is usually outside in the salt encrusted air that floats around late in the afternoon/night and sometimes as it comes rolling in during the middle of the day. The roof and rest of the patina is now “rustier” than a year ago. The location is within a half-mile of the salt air infusion coastline and if one drives by late in the afternoon, the salt air has already started its daily job of a layer of moisture on the surface. When we owned a 327 powered 1940 Ford Sedan Delivery, after several months of work, it was road ready and safe. The handling was great and it stopped on a dime, without any steering wheel shakes. But, while driving on the coastal highways, sometimes the fog was so thick that a windshield wiper just did not clear the window. "Slow and steady wins the race..." Plus, the salt air fog on many occasions was super thick and we had to slow down to a crawl. So, in placing a single yellow light on the front bumper, we ventured out at the next round of thick as pea soup fog. The normal lights lit up the fog bank and created a bright glow of a wall. When we switched on the separate yellow light, now the huge fog bank wall was so yellow and bright that driving through it was a hazard. Instantly, we turned it off and when we got home, we took it off and gave it back to my friend. Fog is not a good sign to be on the road at anytime. But if and when it is a necessity, the regular low beams are good enough to light up the road and fog that is swirling outside of the car on the road. No bright yellow single of dual lights are necessary. And for coastal folks, what is in the air... yup, salt air moisture ten times over... Note: One time in our Westside of Long Beach neighborhood, driving the old flathead powered sedan delivery late at night, I ran into some thick fog. It was like driving into a huge wall of white water rolling into shore during a big ocean swell/surf days. It seemed as thick. So, I slowed down to a crawl on my side of the street. No one was coming toward me and it was getting harder to see the parked cars on the right. No center line for directions... So, I moved over to the left of the narrow side street and now, I could get as close to the other parked cars as I needed. If headlights popped up in a glow down the street, which it did not, I could always move over to my original side. As the closer I got to home, it was dark, super thick fog all the way home to our driveway. But, in thinking of that moment, who the heck would be in that thick fog late at night, except for a teenager coming home safely? Getting caught in thick fog is different than choosing to drive in a foggy day/night. Normally adjusted headlights give the best of a bad situation if one has to drive in fog. Note 2: As far as that old rusty truck is concerned, we did see it safely off of the street and into a parking space, in a driveway. Now, at least it is safely off of the road, during those thick coastal fog days and night scenarios. The red primer of our own 1940 Willys Coupe build was so we did not have to worry about a finished paint job and extreme care had to be taken when replacing something or doing more work on the overall car. My brother’s goal was to paint in in primer then when running well and becomes a great representative of our work, get it painted, detailed and finished. Luckily, it was in fairly good shape, the primer kept the surface pristine while sitting outside during our after school build foggy days and constant moisture late into the night. Talk about a day in the sun... this is a year or two in the all day, all night, all storms, and all soot in the air patina, still growing daily... Then jump up many years and one day my wife saw this cool old Ford truck sitting by the side of a coastal city street. It looked rusty from across the on coming traffic lane. Upon closer inspection, either the salt air was already attacking the paint, or the rust was covered in some clear solution or preservative oil. A closer photo proves some solution was sprayed on to preserve the “old car” look. Or, some early morning salt air moisture was having fun. We weren’t at a car show, so being a possible daily driver, the old truck had the look to be preserved in any way possible. It had moved several parking spaces on other days we saw it, so it does get driven. Normal protection for any paint has numerous ways and products available. But, if anything is left outside, especially in “salt air,” it has no chance for long term survival. YRMV “Rust Never Sleeps…”
When I built my Austin gasser in 2010 I drove it in the original old patina paint for the first year just to make sure everything was sorted out. I didn't change much over that year beyond tires and wheels. I was at a get together with friends back then when a young guy and his girl friend walked up to look at it, and the girl looked puzzled and asked her boyfriend what it was? He told her it was a rat rod, which hit a sore spot for me, and I had to bite my tongue and keep quiet. I hate RR vehicles. I had already planned it to get a paint job, so that fall I blew it apart and finished the bodywork, and shot it in primer. Then gave it to a friend and paid him to paint it. Never regretted getting rid of the original paint and patina.
My 57 was painted in lacquer back in 1981. It still looks pretty good. I prefer cars that are nice and shiny, but I do like cars that are in primer too. Patina is not my thing but there are some cars that look good that way. The thing with patina is that some cars are too far gone and really need paint. Clear over patina and faux patina doesn't look right to me. To each their own.
Hello, A year ago, as noted on an earlier post, this old Ford truck looks good with its coastal patina. When we saw it parked along the street and on another week cruising down the highway, we thought it to be a relic, whether it is built up with an SBC motor or just remaining stock, it had the look of a cool old truck. The rust looked as if it had been in “salty air” all of its life. We know how destructive “salt air” arrival on any coastal area can be. Despite the constant wax protection, “rust never sleeps…” It is so relevant in coastal cities and up to a mile or so inland from the coast, when the salt air fog starts its constant battle with the heat coming from the inland areas. But, for a while, the rusty truck disappeared and we did not see it for some time. Then, my wife sees this old truck parked up the street and took a photo of it while it was still outside and seemed like a nice day.. But, within 30 minutes or so, the whole area was inundated with thick fog and we knew it was “salt air fog.” The wind direction was from the nearby ocean and along with it, the moving fog coating everything in its path. Even when the old cars/trucks are covered with wax of sorts, there are parts that can’t get covered with wax and those parts start the process. Mysteriously, the wheels or wheel covers have changed, but still retains the patina, only it seems with more intense aging... Jnaki Whether the owner wants a totally rusty looking truck finish to go along with some nice whitewall tires, that remains to be seen. We know from our 50-60 plus years of coastal city living that it is a destructive force that is a part of living along the shoreline and its wonders. We just have to try and keep up with the incursion that happens almost daily. YRMV Note: The coastal fog has been thick the last three days. It is so thick that when I was driving to Newport Beach yesterday, every one was going the normal, fast speed. No traffic at 5:30 am. So, we were all moving nicely. But, up ahead, there was some fog interspersed between some buildings. We were about 4 miles inland. Soon, as we all approached the wispy fog, it got so thick, so fast that we all had to slow down from speed, down to 30-40 mph. The fog was thick and clarity was hindering. For the whole morning, the fog covered buildings, roads and it was so thick heading back to the coast that I had to slow down to 20-25 mph to be safe. It stayed that way all morning and into the night. This morning, it is also thick fog along the coastline. Time to take a nap… The local weather predicts a sunny day with temps up to 70 along the coast and up to 80 inland. Time for a nice outside walk… YRMV
In about 2004, at the beginning of the (yuk) RR phase, I was standing with an old car builder at a car show, watching partially primered cars roll in. He didn't say much then, just watched and observed. Fast forward to about 2021, and he and I were BSing at another show, of which was full of primered and unpainted (that "patina" word) cars and trucks. I mentioned that a couple of the cars were the same ones from all those years earlier, and weren't painted yet. He grumbled something about "In the 50's, we built cars and ran them in primer until we could get them painted, not keep them looking like a parts car." Maybe it's my autobody journeyman technician voice speaking, but if I see something not painted shiny, I want to paint it up. That being said, I can also appreciate an in progress or primered car. Same for an all original paint so called survivor. Cool. I suppose it's just me. From when I was growing up, it was the ultimate goal to have something painted nice and shiny. Oh the times, they are a-changin'. As far as I'm concerned, trends come and go, but as long as we keep these old cars and trucks on the roads, who cares what they look like!!
Shiny paint is what I like. I also like natural patina. No Fake Patina for me. Paint the car and let it age naturally. JMO Nothing against primer, if you don’t have the money for paint.
In the 50's we got cars that had good paint, nosed and decked them, Hood, Door handles and Trunk hit those spots with Black, White, Brown, or Grey primer and drove them..
Numbers 5 and 6 for me. I'm 76 and running out of time so I've spray-bombed my '29 hotrod Rustoleum Hunter Green. Looks good, easily repeatable/resprayed, good 20-footer. Who cares about scratches, door dings, etc.?
I like a good quality glossy paint job. But I also appreciate and like a 30 year old paint job that has normal wear and tear from being driven and enjoyed. One of the biggest problems I see often is a poor quality paint job. Too me they would have been better off leaving it in primer. Bottomline is a finished shinny paint job should not look cloudy or like the peel of an orange! It should look like a mirror and be so clear that you could use it to shave your face. To get a paint job to that level takes some skill and hard work. And Used car lot base coat clear coat won't get you there. The biggest Down side to having a Nice paint job is because of the cost of good quality materials and the hard work that goes into getting it there is worrying about scratches and such. So it takes away some of the fun of enjoying driving your car. I have friends who won't drive their cars because of fear of a ding or scratch. I recently bought a nice 32 grille, hood and gas tank that has old laquear paint on it and I have a nice original old chrome chopped 32 roadster windshield frame. So even though I am not a fan of Fake patina I think I am going to Paint my brookville body to match the hood and grille and fake some light wear and tear on it to try and age match the old paint.
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