Need input for HOT ROD Mag Story: Patina

An old car is a statement. If you leave your car rusty and worn, you are telling the world you are indifferent to their standards, or rules of what a "hot rod" should look like. Or you might be saying " hey this thing sat in a field for 20+ years and was headed to the scrapper, and I saved it". If you fake it, what kind of statement are you making?

The sad thing is, is that in the world we live in nowadays, everything is fake.
Fake is the easy way to do something that usually takes alot of time, or just does'nt occur naturally, ie, implants, liposuction, botox. Fake is accepted, almost the norm. I don't like it. Fake IS Fake, and there's no way around it.

When I see a car that has been treated to look like it's been around the block, but really just came out of the box, I usually laugh, because the owner is being a wanna-be and is making his/her nice car look like shit, in some lame attempt to try to "fit in". But what do I know.

 

Sir Ricky of Racer, No Barnhardts car was a coupe and Stevie's was a sedan, both of them ended up with no upper sheetmetal. Ask ElP and, I think, he'll say his was first....

 

Getting back to the original queston,I think most are OK with level 1​

and 2 but in my opinion 3 and 4 should be switched. Faked racers that
never existed don't cut it. The collection of old parts to create
a traditional rod is what drives most of us. Unfortunately this doesn't
put any money in the pockets of the magazine advertisers. Sorry.
Theres's something about an unfinished car that speaks to real hot rod
builders. Barn finds even better. When people walk past Joe G.
Chainers fresh new ride to check out your unfinished "heap" just
proves it. Didn't Roth say something about an unfinished car having
potential, and painted cars are just "done" Fake patina on all new parts
is just a way for the power parkers to get the attention back.
Dave.... I'd rather not see any thing at all about this in Hot Rod.
Don't get me wrong, I think the magazine is the best its ever been.
I've been bragging it up to everyone I know. Just keep printing more
pictures from the archives and everything will be fine.


Thanks, Doc

 

My car has went from a 61 Hot Rod feature car to setting in a field for a few years to what it is now. Seeing how cool patina is Im putting my car back to the 1961 look.


http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4485

 

its pretty bad to see fake rust and pits on a fiberglass car.....and to see it in street rodder ..........you got to love the real thing........rooster

 

PAUL!!! What's the story on that Coupe???? Never seen it before- and it gets a jaded old humbug like me TOTALLY EXCITED!!! That's awesome- more info PLEASE!!!

 

i like to call my junk a crusto rod......lord knows what the people around home call it......probably starts with p and ends with t...(pos)....old worn paint and surface rust .....thats something that shows where the car has been ....you just can't fake the real deal....a friend of mine and myself built a old crusty tub back in 02......old parts ....and a couple days.....took it out the next summer......and had a ball ......dropped in on the pro's pick at indy gg's......(man , that didn't go over too well.....some got it....others ...well ....they never will).....a car that cost me around 1500 bucks.....sitting across from the riddler winner that was rumored to have cost close to 7 figures....as for drivabilty.....it would cruise the fairgrounds all day long......but has some steering issues that go back to the fed front axle.....it has been stashed since 02.....but i finally dug it out this past fall.....might redo a few things and actually make it street legal....i have since built a couple other crusty cars....and they are by far the most fun you can have......worry about nothing.....heres a couple shots of the tub , my last a sedan , and my current a coupe......the coupe will probably end up painted......but thats a ways off......brandon bowling

 

Patina, is for Antiques Road Show.

If you build your ride to have "patina", you don't get it.

If your ride has "patina" cause it's stuck that way till you finish it, then you do what you have to do.

Patina, the new billet.

 

And I know where the hubcap is that you lost at the Pump gas drags this year. LOL

 

Damn it Freiburger! Due to CC's and HR's incessant paint and
body issues I've spent 30 years trying to eliminate this "patina"
that you speak of. NOW,you tell me that I've wasted the best years
of my life? #*&@!

 

So true, brother. So true.

 

a genuine patina implies that the item in question is authentic. In short, it has integrity. I think it's funny, and at the same time desperate pathetic and cynical, that someone would tell a lie to create the illusion of integrity. I guess their audience is the people who think championship wrestling is real.

"Truth -- An ingenious compound of desirability and appearance."
Ambrose Bierce

 

Obviously there's no substitute for real patina, it speaks of a cars history and gives it a kind of soul. When you build the car of your dreams, you add the right stance, the right wheels and tires, even the right sound to match your vision of what a hot rod should be, and if the body your working with doesn't have the patina you envision, I don't see anything wrong with adding that too, after all your building your dream, and you should do it the way you want it. Metalflake was popular in the 60's then went out of style, does that mean if we put metalflake on our cars now that we're "faking" a 60's build? Patina is a finish that sets the style of the car, just like any other finish, and if you have to "fake it" to complete your vision, then so be it.

 

roddinron has hit the nail on the head !!!!

 

I hate the word PATINA, it is just one of those words that give everyone something to bitch about. Who cares if it is real or not if it looks good on the car. Most people dont have 20-30+ years to wait around for their cars to grow some real patina. Soon no one will be able to stand patina and it will about as popular as billet. New show...PatinaProof. Done in moderation fauxtina can look good maybe a door logo, etc but there is always those that push everything to the limit until everyone else is sick of it.

 

I feel special. I know the father of patina. Hmm....Pat-ina. Wow.

 

Personally i like the patina look.

 

I like old patina on old hot rods, race cars and shop trucks. If it has cool old numbers/lettering stripping I say leave it. I think the pulled out of the barn look is fine on a car for a season or 2 while working out the bugs before final paint. After that, i think it starts looking like your lazy or poor. I fully understand that too, since I'm both! I had the money, I'd take shiney over shitty any day. I really don't like the fake steel(glass), fake patina cars. If you want to have a car that looks like ratty old steel, buy a ratty old steel car!

 

I'm not a big fan of the "Faux-Patina" cars...but Sometimes it's someone best effort to honor the timeless. The big buck guys are only doing it to get into the mags.
My cars fit into your #2 category and I spend the time to hunt them down. I usually make them safe and drivable so others can enjoy..

Spoons

 

hey,wait up...15K for a PAINTJOB????,,I can't even afford 15K to build an entire car!,,you mean some people have a 15K paint budget??? ,,i know they do,but me and those people arent living on the same wave length,,,

 

Thanks for posting the pic of my car Paul. It was built with all old parts, all steel, nuthin' repop except the tires, the interior from a 60's done resto, a gennie 32 chassis, 57 mill etc etc. Not built to have patina, built to be shiny, and built to be driven. It WILL have patina someday I suppose, but it will earn it.
I think patina is a strange thing, I appreciate it when it's been dealt or come about by time, but have a hard time grasping when folks try and replicate it. But whatever winds their watch. There is so much stuff still in the barns and garages - it's just there for the finding!! Find it, get it, make it safe, and drive it!!!

 

x2, I love looking at a newly rediscovered rod that looks like it hasn't even been leaned against for 40 years, someone just aired the tires,cleaned the carbs and tank and droved it away, That is the coolest. I'm also cool with someone replacing a panel and patina matching the aged paint on the rest the car, but I can't stand fake bullet-holed, fake rust and patina on a new build, especially a glass car, Used to be the whole reason people bought glass or even a repop steel car for that matter, was to avoid having to patch up an old body? Now, I wouldnt be suprised to see someone buy a new Brookville 32 and weld on patch panels to make it look old.

I always at least hope for a nice paint job on my cars, even though they may never get one, Admittedly, paint is not a big priority once I have one on the road. I can't imagine all that time and effort for paint being spent on a faux finish, that everyone can usually tell isn't legit.

Man i'd have a show stopper if I would have left all the Katrina induced rust on my roadster, It was in bare metal when it went underwater.
Mike T.

 

I'd like to add one other thought to this, I keep hearing patina referred to as history (I even did it myself) but is it always? I mean if a hot rod was built in the 40's and painted, then tore down and rebuilt and repainted in the 50's, then tore down and repainted in the 60's and so on until now, doesn't that car have a lot more "history" from all it's years on the street being driven, raced, rebuilt and taken care of and never allowed to fade and rust, than some old rust bucket that's only been sittin' in a field for 40 years? I ask you, which car has the most stories to tell? If they could talk, I bet you'd get pretty tired hearing "Ole Rusty" talkin' about all those years sittin' in that field, even the story about the bullet through the door would get old pretty quick, but I'll bet you couldn't get enough of hearing all the adventures that bright shiny reborn hot rod could tell, even if some asshole did put billet wheels on it this time around!

 

Rat Rods are just a way to bring rural America to the rest of the world. Instead of some rusty shitbox sitting on blocks in front of a trailer, it's sitting on airbags in front of Bob's Big Boy.
-Bill

 

Creating patina is like creating fine aged bourbon. Only age can produce the real thing, everything else is either a blend or an outright creation. As with whisky, it doesn’t even take a connoisseur to tell the difference.

 

Patina must be earned. Much like respect. It cant be bought. In most instances it cost more to fake that weathered look. So why spend all that money to fake it when you can spend a little time and find the real thing. I consider myself an " automotive archeologist." I love the thrill of the hunt and digging it out of whatever barn,garage,field or where ever it may be. Even better is the thrill of bringing back to life the way it was found. All of these old cars have a history with them. Every dent , scratch, worn spot in the paint, you cant fake history. So if you are going for the patina look , use the real thing. Dont wate all that time making it look old. Use that time to find the real thing.

 

Good to see you on here... HotRod Mag is doing great...

When the first few fake patina cars were built a few years ago it was neat to see the work, but to much of a good thing becomes bad.



Real patina is cool. building a non 'Mother Natured' version is not.

 

Personally I can't understand why anyone would like to drive a car that they poured their heart and soul into to build and then to have it look like crap. The original hot ords might have had primer spots on them, but these cars for the most part were daily dirvers as well, and work was always in progress. Enough said to each their own, but I feel that this whole exercise is doing the car hobby a disservice. It took us long enough to gain respectability, don't loose that respect we have as a car hobby. Even though the car is built safe, that liook doesn't represent that to the folks looking at it.

 

Real is real and fake is fake a blowup doll is not a real women. Its just for the guys that cant get the real thing.

 

LOL
April 07 page 68 of Hot Rod "Shabby Chic"
A step by step how to distress a 'glass rod

At least some of you guys were quoted

[sigh] I can't believe someone went through that much work to get rust, all they had to do is swap me keys.

Hell I'd even go dumpster diving to retreive the rat nests I so luvingly removed.