Man, I LOVE old paint. The look. The feel. Everything about it. Unfortunately, the guy I bought my body from stripped the whole dang thing. I HATE fake "patina" too though, but was wondering if there is a way to make new paint look like old paint. You know, with scratches, checks and that wonderfully warm not shiny, not flat glow. Like a car that was found with original paint from 40 (or even more) years ago. Please don't get all angry at me, but it's really what I would like to do. Is there a way to do this without it looking fake or am I asking for the impossible? Thanks, Andy
Have you looked at any of the satin finishes? They may be what you are looking for. I have also heard of a "flattener" that can be added to regular paint to "de-shine" it. The one or two examples I have seen (to me anyway) looked like dark primer that had been clear coated (both vehicles were dark gray.) Over on Garage Journal someone had a picture of a late-model Chevy Silverado that someone had painted to look not only faded, but "patinaed" all over the body, including the "rusted out" rocker panels. Maybe go the artistic route?
Just paint it in your driveway, at dusk when all the bugs are about, then go for a drive down some old overgrown dirty country roads. Unfortunately, you can't fake time, and time is what you need for real patina. There are folks who can airbrush real good looking patina, but it's still fake. Real patina is earned, it's proof of adventure. You just cannot reproduce this.
It is definitely possible to make it look real. I haven't done it, but I've seen the results. There are different looks. Some more believable than others. To me, the sanding through the paint has been overdone and comes off cheesy. If you want it legit rusty, try using rock and salt and letting it sit outside. If you want to chip up the paint, use an old brick or house block broken up for an uneven edge to scrape the edges slightly. Subtlety is the key I think.
Sorry, I'm a carpenter- I use Bondo. Such is life. Patched with original tin as much as possible, base coat Rustoleum Red Oxide primer, 2nd coat flat white Rustoleum, 3rd coat flat black Rustoleum. ( all applied haphazardly with "chip" brushes). When top (3rd) coat is tacky, wipe down with thinner very lightly, produce a few scratches and dings with a piece of jagged metal from the trash, and Viola! Looks mahvelous, dahling.
It's like art. Not too many things are impossible, maybe real hard to do , but not impossible. If done properly, you can't tell real good fake patina is fake.
But it's not "fake patina" - it's color matching/ blending ( unless you take a solid car and do the " red first coat, black 2nd coat, and sand through it ( barf). Which looks really crappy.) Totally different approach to try and match old finish. Everything's fake the minute you change it from the original if you look at it that way . And why do people keep referring to Rail Roads??? ( "Watch out, Brother, there's a train a comin'")
Waitaminute, you don't like fake patina, but you want a paint job technique that looks like old age.....so, then fake patina. Patina doesn't mean rust. Patina is signs of age.
You don't "fake it", you pull your boots on and do it nice. You're starting with a stripped car so you know what you have, doesn't matter how nice it was before because it's gone. Patina is an abused term and doesn't fit a worn out old finish. That's wear, that's deterioration. If you want old for reals then shoot it in lacquer and take care of it. After about 3-5 years it's going to show it's age, and you will have aged it naturally. But for fun, lets assume we can duplicate a finish from, oh I dunno, how about 1962. Let's paint an Olds. When the car was new it didn't have the gloss of today's urethanes but it had a shine to it. That shine got better before it got worse because the owner Simonized his new car twice a year for the 1st few years, but in "as delivered" finish quality that car couldn't win a show for nothing. Judges would scoff at the mediocre paint with traces of orange peel and even a couple minor dirt pieces. If you could see the original no miles 57 Belvedere in the Chrysler Heritage Center warehouse you'd think a poorly run Earl Schieb shop painted it. Hell maybe it's not even that good, but it's what they were doing/selling in the Mopar camp in 57. By the days of their muscle cars it wasn't much better. GM had heat reactive lacquers, Ford shot a lot of enamel. If we're talking prewar, Ford shot some in enamel and some still in lacquer. Packard was still lacquer, wet sanded and polished to a superior luster. I only added all of that to perhaps inspire treating the car right. You bought it for a reason so support those thoughts and give it something nice and right. Show it some respect, and thumb your nose at the patina crowd. My car happens to be original paint, but it has "original" surface rust in a few places where time wore the finish to bare metal. Guess what? I'm gonna paint those spots and blend em to the original finish. See, I can't find rust in the Ford parts book, nor can I find dirt, bird shit, mildew or any other quality deterioration process. I'll be stuck with original paint that, at 1st blush, will look like a new finish. That's gonna suck, right? (insert cop out answer here): "It's your car, you can do what you want."
If you paint it with flat automotive paint, real automotive paint with flattener, or hot rod flatz or similar brand, the paint can be buffed to bring out a shine. How much you buff is up to you. SEM flattener http://m.summitracing.com/parts/smm-13038?seid=srese1&gclid=CI7xstfrms0CFUQbgQod76YJHw PPG also has flattener, I've used it with shopline enamel for satin black engine compartments. Tcp global offers satin in their restoration shop paint line, the also carry hot rod flatz colors. My advice would be to paint the car shiny.
Andy, I have not done it myself but I have seen John Deer Blitz Black buffed out, it looked like old paint that had been cared for. The battle scars [probably need to come naturally though. Anyway is a thought. Another things that works well is to just blow single stage enamel on it drive it for 6 months to a year before you buff it.
This is my plan for my OT truck. It just takes a little time/patience until it looks like I want. As Mike suggested, a variety of under coat colors will possibly help achieve the desired look as the final finish wears through but anything you do beyond simply using the vehicle may result in a fake-looking result.
I don't get the whole patina thing. It's one thing to actually have a car that has been pulled from a barn, like Reggie's 36 cabriolet, but unless it's a survivor.....you're just a poser.
being a poser isn't all that bad. Atleast I am out tearing up the roads in an old hotrod that is one color until I have the time and money to do real bodywork and paint
Give it a nice paint job and maintain it carefully for 40 or 50 years. It should have a nice 'broken in' look in less than 10 years. Be one of those legends who builds a nice car and keeps it forever.
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