Need input for HOT ROD Mag Story: Patina

When I was a kid and these cars were built, we painted them. No body would put that much work into a car and not at least prime it. $29.95 at Shieb. Something. I rattle canned my Bantam in primer, but at least it was all the same color.

 

My story from a while back. The car arrived at that look the hard way, by earning it! It now belongs to Hamber bellyjello. It looks awesome with paint!
Bil
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=33342

 

I had a 57 Chevy wagon once.....the factory red paint was worn through to the primer in several spots from years of use. Never had a clue it was called "patina" . I kept it shined with nice wheels (not rims) and drove it everywhere. It had a true character to it.....you can't fake that. No matter how much money it cost you to fake it..........your just blowin smoke up your own ass.

But as the guy on TV sez........." It's your money.......piss it away like you want to".

 

I like/did like the "patina" thing. Unfortunately, so do lots of others, to the point where it's been overdone/poorly done/copied/replicated, etc. Now, the "look" is so abundant, it's not nearly the "treat" that it once was. This is my take on the situation.

 

Patina rhymes with Katrina, Purina and hyena, but not vagina.

Regina rhymes with patina, except in Saskachewan, where it rhymes with vagina.

Discuss.

 

You're ever the scholar and mentor, Mr Zenor. Or should I say, To Sir: With Love... sniff sniff

 

Hey, people tell me I look like Sidney Poitier. Do you sing like Lulu?

Here's another one: Paulina (Iowa) and Regina (queen) rhyme with patina (rust), but Paulina (Street in Chicago) rhymes with Regina (Saskachewan) and vagina (naughty bit).

 

Why yes I do! Thank you for asking. My version of "Son Of A Preacher Man" by Dusty Springfield will send chills down your spine or lunch up your esophagus.

For the record, my Tarzan yell must be heard to be believed.

 

I like to put on my burqqa and ululate.

 

Saw this Duce 5 window at the Doughnut shop in Huntington Beach last summer. OK it has "fake" patina but tell me it is not a great looking rod!

Rex

 

I think it's mostly sour grapes, some guy with a $25,000 paint job on his plastic Deuce has some kid with a patina rod / rat rod whatever you want to call park next to him, and nobody pays any attention to the Deuce. Give me the patina, real or fake, over the Turquoise and Mauve with Billet stuff, that's what's been over done, and why so many guys like the patina look, plus it's easy, cheap, and you can do it yourself, and have a whole lot of fun doin' it.

 

The recent 50's rat rod from ebay (link on here somebody?)
is a patina car... real and untouched.(kinda scary. )
A driveable but unsafe oldie as found(barn car) is a
"white knuckle patina car" .. ok to view but only the crazy people will drive them. (been there done that.)
A safe and 80-90% as found oldtime hottie but with updates or replacements .... is a restored/saved hot rod.(I like em.)
A stocker thats given the treatment to have the look is a fake .Like a female moviestar with faked endowments ... eventually no one will notice/pay attention cuz it ain't the real deal and it shows and she will need to be redone again.
In dealing in real antiques there is a dividing line there too.
What some consider a sacred untouched/unaltered original others can't wait to make it all clean and just like new or thier own.(Value changes rapidly here.)
Cars ,old hotrods... same thing applies.
Remember the tudor 58 buick limited I offer you for R/C tshirt .. I was afraid to touch it because it was a original 1 owner car .. just crusty around the edges... impossible to get parts for and kinda ugly.A true bar car survivor..
I sold it for 40x my investment ... better than a t shirt ... I guess.
It has no patina any more.

The 32 tudor I bought this spring (check my profile pic BARN FIND OWATONNA and caption this photo) I have yet to touch.. its as found mostly..
WHAT TO DO? WHAT TO DO????
Patina is a fleeting condition made only by time, the elements and luck.(dust to dust!)
Like the red race car from trj the fingerprints were showing so it had to washed..
I like the ideal of the patina find its fleeting to keep them as found.

paperdog

 

before patina became a by word, i listened and watched guys who used to make repro parts look correct on real cars, that sold for lots of money. these were not just weathered lettering and a chemically enhanced rust. but brilliant artistry on parts that were not but a few days old, that would pass even the most discerning collectors eye as to whether the part was 90 years old.

patina like age, are judged in the eye of the beholder: Those who know, dont always tell.

 

They didn't dump $15K into a paint job either. Since even a $1500 paint job is out of my league and I can't spray paint except with a tattle can, Rustoleum and a roller works fine for me.. If I ever decide to go "shiney", I'll hit Maaco or Earl Scheib.

Jan

 

i think that is where you are going wrong, when did "paint guns" come into usage? i think models A's were still dipped? I know model T's were.

When it comes to faking an old paint job, the first step is to use the techniques of the day: brushes, varnish for clear coats, etc...I know that real laquer is a thing of the past but it would be a start.

i think that there is more to an old paint job than some flattening agent and sanding.

 

I really dont care if its "faux-tina" or "patina", as long as it looks cool and "could" be legit im fine with it, but when it comes to a glass car with a weathered paint job i dont like it, but anyways i dont own the car so does it really matter?

i built my truck the way i like it, i dont do body work so i left the cab hood and grille the way it was, i liked old door lettering so i had a freinds wife do the doors, and then built a box for it and decided that it wouldnt match if i left it shiny black so i made it match the cab the best i could. im not hiding any facts that i built the car 4 years ago, so i dont see how it can be such a big deal.

if you dont like it thats cool, if you do, thats cool too, its mine and i really dont care what other people think, im having fun.

JEFF

 

Real patina looks good.
Applied patina, whether paint or rust, is a testament to the beauty of the real thing. And it's just paint and rust, two things that can be changed easily!
What's the deal? Would it offend anyone's delicate sensibilities to have a fake-patina car parked next to their genuine-patina car?

 

is the 46 ford you guys are talking about el polacko's old car??? sounds like it to me, but hes from arizona. real patina is cool to a point, sometimes it looks like the car is just wasting away though! heres a pic of my favorite car with patina, my friend daves desoto wagon. original paint,& the parker guest ranch writing is from the early seventies when the wagon was used in some b lesbian movie!

 

rust is rust, old paint is old paint.

Larry

 

I heard that patina originall came out of silversmiths and their use of rouge polishes. That fine haze of tiny swirls (you can see it in most dark paint jobs too) is what they called patina. It allowed you to focus on the object and not your own reflection. If this is true, some of the rust-for-rust's-sake cars that I've seen go waaay beyond patina!

 

Well you asked ! ( I can feel the daggers already )

I see a lot of discussion about "Patina" being fake and unearned, and some of you guys are so passionate about it, it would seem to be a personal possession of yours,..... Well, what about "Traditional Hot Rods" the cars we are building right now by and large have either never been Hot Rods before or are being built as our personal interpretation of what a Traditional ( REAL 40's 50's or 60's ) Hot Rod is,...... is this just as "fake" as a patina paint job on your just finished Traditional Rod ?

There are several forms of counterfeiting, and using the criteria you are passing judgment on the Patina Paint with, if it were to be applied to our current 2006 built "Traditional Hot Rods" wouldn't they be fake too ?,...... If they weren't Hot Rods in the day ?

If your emulating a car built back in the 1940 with all the correct parts, look and feel of "the real thing" what's wrong with taking that car to the next step and make it look like it survived all those years?, Because in both circumstances it is a counterfeit, it was not built in the day and it was not painted in the day ( but it might be exactly what turns you on )

It's kind of funny, this same judgmental attitude was prevalent during the Billet, Pastel, Gold Chain thing. Build the car YOU want, just the way YOU want it,.. there will always be people that look down there nose at your car and tell you what's wrong with it either to your face or behind your back, they will find 101 reasons it ain't a
"real Hot Rod" cause they say so,..........

Well Guess what,... when YOU see it in YOUR garage, or when YOU are tooling down the street with it and ya' get that big stupid Hot Rod grin from ear to ear,.......... you just built the perfect Hot Rod no matter what anyone says.

( IMHO ,........ )

 

The Barnhardt Concise Dictionary of Etymology suggests that "patina" may have originated with the Latin word patina, meaning pan, perhaps as reference to the incrustation found on ancient dishes. The same source claims that the word was first used to convey a “sense of refinement and cultural sophistication” in 1933, when patina became more generic, describing the cosmetic evidence of handling and weathering on virtually any artifact.

In the world of antiques, patina adds value. Fake patina, "distressing," indicates a cheap knock-off.

DF

 

...That 48 Ford coupe from Texas belonged to Pat Barnhart and was an awesome car. He and a friend drove it to a big California run where people went nuts over it. Boyd Coddington paid them a dollar to look under the hood. That car was turned into a ragtop using a convert. parts car. I don't know if Pat still has that car or not. I feel lucky that I actually got to meet Pat and some of his friends at one of the R&C Americruises . His car was the forerunner of this "patina" craze, and those guys are true hot rodders.
...I like old cars with old paint or even fake old paint.

 

okay,here goes.

The way Patina should look can be summed up in therr words-

THE WACO KID.

That is a true to life Barn find car that looks it's part. I fully expected the whole "we just changed out the gas , dropped in a battery and drove it home!" story, and was very surprised how much work went into getting it running, replacing various parts, and the effort it took to keep everything "looking" like it should. it looks right, drives right, and even smells right. it CANNOT be duplicated...A copy of the Mona Lisa, reguardless of how good, is just that-a copy. A duplicate, and ultimately, a fake.

there is a fine line here also...a beat to crap pinto will not ever have the soul...I like to think my '67 has it, but in the eyes of many, it's just clapped out. it has certianly paid it's dues, but it lacks the history of these old rods...I feel the same about the Hirohata Merc-I was really surprised to find out it was being repainted-even though Junior was doing it, it must have a different "smell" now...I haven't seen it since completion, but I think of it like the Statue of Liberty...if someone polished it up and painted it back green...She wouldn't be the same.
It is nature in attack, being held at bay by men and lacquer. we are destined to fail at it. these cars are proof of the fight.

if tomorrow, someone stole your favorite chair and burned it, the only thing that is gonna make your new chair as good is use. the Fakes are attempting to get the lived in look without the wounds. it simply doesn't work that way.

hmmm...
My name IS
Lux Blue

 

Three step process:

1. Build the best car you can.

2. Have a ton of fun driving it all over America.

3. Take care of it, but don't pamper it.

Sometime between a dozen and twenty years later, it'll have that special something that makes old hot rods bitch'n.

 

I'm all for fake rust as long as they beat the shit out of it like the real deal.

 

Pay no attention to him;he doesn't know what he's talking about.You can use this in the story if you like.

Ray Smith

 

HaHa, that rules.

 

my car had great patina .but every time i walked pass it .my arm looked like i rubbed a chalk board..i couldnt even check the oil with out getting dry chalky paint all over me.it didnt matter how hard i washed the car.. i like the fresh out of the field/barn look. if thats what you want your car to look like .go for it..if you can fake it why not....

 

"honorable scars from fair wear and tear shall not count against"

it may be more practical to display an imitation of a priceless or unobtainable thing, but it must be done with tact and taste and an exacting eye to the subtleties of what age truly evokes,
or it will look like "the cheap knock off" you refer to..

not an easy thing to pull off.

why not build a car with all the right parts and use it,
like this new car here for example,

it will show real patina before you know it.