Clear coat over old original paint anybody?

Hello everyone- Quick question and opinions please. I just bought what is suppose to be a mostly original '54 Lincoln Capri. Still working all the details out but it should be here the first week of August.

It looks like the paint is all original and it has that nice weathered and worn look all over the body. Some spots have surface rust and/or no paint as it has worn away, but nothing needing repair for the most part. I want to keep the body exactly as it is and I am wondering about just getting it sprayed with clear coat to protect what is already there. Also if that sounds good, I don't want a shiney look to the car, just want the paint preserved.

Any comments? Never done this with an old car before but it looks really cool just he way it is now but I don't want the metal to start really getting bad. Thanks

 

do a search for the CLR (calcium lime rust) thread. Yeah the bathroom cleaner. Lots of good info there.

 

Forget the clear coat,,a good coat of wax should do the job.. HRP

 

The VW guys do this alot. I recently went to a VW show and there were many Buses and Bugs with clear over the patina. A satin clear would be cool,but gloss clear over patina looks dumb to me.

 

I agree that CLR and a good heavy coat of yellow wax will do fine. I did this to our A pickup and am very happy with the results.

 

The clear coat deal has been done to several cars on the Fast and Loud TV show...

 

Both photos are the same truck?,,man that CLR does wonders! HRP

 

Exactly the reason you don't wanna go the cheesy clear route! For the clear to stick to the vehicles' current finish, and hold up more than six months to a year, you're gonna have to sand the finish that's on the vehicle. When the clear fails up the road, you'll loose the patina anyway, why not just put a ''real'' paint job on it now, and leave the faux patina to the posers?

A good cleaning, followed by a good paste wax will buy ya some time to deside what ya wanna do-

 

Paint it nice shiny like it was new,have some repect of old metal.
Patina=is a big sign saying owner thinks rotting going to junk looks good to him.
Don't be a fool,there are enough of those stupids out there now.

"Patina is a fanzy four letter word with added bull shit!" "Q" by Dana Barlow

 

It doesn't look like the OP wants to create the fake patina bullshit. He wants to preserve the original finish.
Wax sounds like the best route to go.

 

Just did this last week on a buddys truck. Sprayed mat clear to protect the "patina". turned out great. Just washed it good with soap and water. And yes I know what Im doing, I do this stuff for a living.

 

Thanks guys I really apprciate the input. I would like to do this for 2 reason...first, the car is pretty much original and I am one of those history guys...I wonder where the original paint has been all these years and I kind of hate to have it stripped off just so I can have a shinny car. I love the look of an old piece of iron and would like to keep it the way it is now so I can just enjoy driving it when I get home. Second, I have gone the route of buying cars that need body work and this time I did not do that b/c I want to focus on the motor and interior first. I can spend the money on a nice interior first and make sure the drivetrain is brought to standard so I can drive the balls off it without worrying about not making it home.....eventually I can spend the cash on a nice paint job but for now I just want to enjoy the old paint and metal that came from the factory....thanks for all the advise, the plan is growing!

 

It does work pretty good at getting the surface rust off. Here are a few more pictures that show the before and after.

 

I agree wash it rub down with degreaser/wax remover scuff the shiny bits with a scotch brite and don't was wash with pressure afterwards. Hand wash rinse with water and chamois it off, you will be amazed how long it will last. But I agree use something to take down the gloss

 

wash it, keep it clean, and if necessary treat the rusted areas. Patina comes with age and neglect, you could say earned by a car. Put a clearcoat on it, and it is no longer Patina, it is a base/clear paintjob with a crappy base coat. Leave the car as is, or paint it. It survived this long without any help.My .02.

 

"...but for now I just want to enjoy the old paint and metal that came from the factory..."
If you squirt clear over it, you aren't "enjoying the old paint" any more.

 

just clean it up and drive it, keep it out of the rain as mush as possible and you should be fine 'til you decide to paint it. done.

 

Zaino Z3 will make it look really good if there is paint left on it.

 

i would clear it and preserve the original patina

 

The percentage of people who would think this technique is cool aren't worth impressing.

 

Keep the patina. Its give the car personality. Why be like everyone else with a over priced paint job. Cars should look like their driven. Not like they belong in a museum.

 

231Ramona, your garage is awesome. That "A" truck is pretty cool too.

I've considered shooting mine is satin clear to preserve it. It tends to look better when it's wet. The color of surface rust and primer areas are "deeper" and not chalky. I shot it all in Gibbs once and it looked great but that stuff eventually washed off.

Pretty sure if I spray even good satin clear over surface rust that I'll have it peeling off within a year. So I guess I'm stuck shooting it in Gibbs every few months, running it as/is, or trying CLR before shooting it in satin clear.

Not sure what I'll do. Maybe I'll get some CLR and see how it does.

JH

With Gibbs:



Without Gibbs:

 

Looking nice is waaay over rated.

 

x-2

 

4 what its worth. the enamel paint on my coupe was 12 yrs. old with some dead spots in the paint. clear coat made it ALL look shiney.................

 

i love this topic! it makes all the computer car builders get excited!!!

 

Check out Squeeg's epoxy sued clear:
http://www.squeegskustoms.com/products/#FinishCoat

A local body supply shop here in KC sells his epoxy products and he really likes them. They're more than likely repackaged products but dont know what it is. I've been told its easy to use and lays down good.

The only post I have ever seen on their sued clear is here:
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/showthread.php?p=6085832

 

OK I am not going to put clear on it. I will treat the surface rust as much as I can and just keep a check to see that the metal doesn't begin to deteriorate. I live near the ocean so that is another concern but I think I can prob just keep it clean and as dry as possible and go from there. And I am not the type to try and impress anyone shinny paint or not, I just love the look of the car and will be doing as much research as possible on the car to see where she has been. It was a Cali car and now it will be an East Coast car so I can only imagine where the car has travelled and how many owners have driven it. Thanks for all the info guys...

 

its a Cali car! keep the patina! i know its lame to so many but you cant replace the history the car and the paint has. i love cars and i know when they need total rebuilds/resto's but a car that shows its full glory of many years gone by, always grabs my "car enthusiast" attention.
the name patina sucks now because its practically calling it a RR to so many out there.
all it is, is just keeping it going as it is, as it was meant to be...

 

My cars don't have any patina. I screwed up and painted them. Since I don't live near the coast I'm afraid it's going to take a long time for them to develop it. By the time they do, the patina fad will probably be dead and buried.
But I have come up with a solution. Whenever I come across some nice free patina I am storing it. Pretty soon I may have enough to start selling it on ebay. In the meantime I keep it here in my "Patina Cabinet":



Detail:



The top drawer is almost full and I have several old coffee cans full in the area behind the door. If only my cars could look this good.....