History School me, spelling intended.

It's funny, when I was younger (a shit load younger) I hated that the only cars I could afford had crappy paint. Mismatched panels, weather worn finishes, nicks, dings...I hated being penniless with grandiose dreams.

Fast forward 30 years and all of a sudden it is cool to drive what I was once ashamed of. Not for me, I like 'em shiny, straight and gapped correct. Nothing wrong with either camp on this debate, I just know were my tent is pitched and it isn't going to change.

I just spent the last few months prepping a frame for paint. That is how I roll.

 

Help build a flat white Benz that ended up at SEMA
Looks killer

 

As mentioned honest patina such as original time worn paint that is still somewhat intact is appealing and a predominantly surface rusted surface is not in my opinion. Clear coated with the oft chimed their only original once mantra looks poor and trendy.

 

To me the "patina" look has been beat to death. Besides most of the so called patina cars have more russt showing then patina paint. It seems theres now more of them then painted cars. This fad just like the pastel fad of the eighties and the over done graphics fad of the nineties will pass. I hope so.

 

I prefer shiny but I do respect survivors that show a little wear and tear. But the rusted out junk I would not ever admit to owning something like that. And back in the day shiny was the intended goal, period. I think someone borrowed the term patina from th eart w prod to legitimize the fact they could afford to paint their old beater and it became acceptable to many. The “back in the day” argument it simply BS. Looking up patina in my “personal” dictionary it states, “... condition of a vehicle owned by a lazy, tightwad bastard”. LOL

 

I get asked that.
I get tickled at their blank look when I ask them why

 

True back when I was 19 I built a 32five window. Never got painted or finished interior. Did not have the funds and did not want to take it off the road to do it. “having too much fun”
Now I am lucky to have one and one. The best part is my patina car is the real deal. “ The Colman Coupe”.even though all the mechanics have been rebuilt since I have owned it. The paint and interior remain untouched. It still looks great from 20 feet but the old lacquer paint is checked on the truck etc.and there is a small tear in the interior. When I built my roadster I did it early style but finished. Now that I can afford it!


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You don't understand. Guys like that think Restore means to paint it metallic green and purple and drop a SBC crate motor and an automagic xmsn in it.

 

Faux patina, no thanks. Old paint honestly worn down, no problem.
I did the new paint and shiny stuff a few times but then worried about road rash and parking lot crap and no trailer queens for me thank you........nowadays, I look for "good enough" paint and that's what it wears while I drive the wheels off it!

 

I like nice original paint. Repaired damage with a paint match, worn finish that still looks good. I am fine with. What I hate is..... When the finish looks like crap, you had to wash it with CLR, fake rust, lots of primer is showing due to buffing or oxidation, or you cleared it to "preserve the patina". If you ever cleared it to "preserve the patina" you should go immediately to RAT ROD Heaven, do not pass go. do not collect $200.

 

My old beater has honest wear and tear is just damage that is natural and it inevitably occurs as a result of normal wear or aging, my old car was last painted in 1963, yes it has scratches, yes there a spots where there is paint loss, there is absolutely nothing fake about the finish.

I have no intention of painting the car, personally I like the honest look. HRP

 

My old ride is just as it was pulled from a south St. Louis garage 20 years ago. Everything is new except the outside of the body and wouldn’t change a thing unless I want to spend a bunch. To impress all is not in my bag.

 

As a teen my dad and I went car crazy and built a string of nice to show quality cars and we put a few through paint jail. Had a couple with very nice paint. I mostly daily drove those cars and anguished over the inevitable damage they attained. It got to the point that I got frustrated and got all the way out. It wasn't just the paint aspect, I was just sick of caring for "nice" cars, and I had a career and a young family to focus on at that point in life.

Fast forward some years and I get a chance to build a unibody Ford for a good friend... A Uni that had belonged to his best friend that he lost to a brain tumor. That lost friend built it when he was a teen, and the years had aged it, but it was not a trainwreck... just neglected as his life had also been busy with adulting. My friend made it clear that painting the truck was not an option, as teenage Josh had shot the paint that was on it himself. We made the truck safe again and personal to my friend, plus we kept the "Joshtina" as a homage to a friend lost in the process. Josh set the theme of the finish on the whole project. It still remains one of the coolest things I have ever done, mostly because of the friends involved and the memories it revolves around.

This build introduced me to the idea of "patina", but from this personal perspective. What I didn't expect was the freedom that truck would offer. There is no stress to driving it. We just drag it out and go... anywhere. Perhaps hose the bird crap off first. I was, and am, completely hooked to the idea of having that kind of car, and building it completely re-energized my zeal for all things "car".

My opinion... Patina is a preference. It can be done poorly just like any other car modification. It can be taken out of context. It has been abused. It is not for everyone. For me, it allowed me to get back into the car scene in a big way and enjoy it again. I am building a car now that has decent paint, but it is no show car. It will be the perfect companion to the uni, and we plan to burn down some highway with it.

In my case it's the gateway drug... I might paint the next one!

 

I’m not as old as most of you guys but growing up in the 80’s and 90’s a primerd car meant you where saving up for paint.

a flat black or flat paint car meant she was a rocket and the body work was shit cause you blew the farm to make it go fast.

now Mercedes and other luxury cars offer it as a premium paint job lol!!
Fake patina is ghey.
Some cars can pull off the “ just drove off the farmers back 40 look”
Some can’t.

some I like, some I don’t.

my 55 Buick had an old honest paint job on it no rust or crap but a bit weathered and checked with age I liked it.

my 69 Lincoln had a really clean but faded paint.
Once I finished it mechanically I knew it needed a proper paint job, and I knew it would be 10 grand plus plus plus and then another 10 on the interior.
So I sold it.

I like shiny, I like flat, I like aged.

fake junk is just that junk

 

Patina, smh. Rust is rust to me. Leave it alone if it's true rust spots on an older car.
To purposely patina a car is more like trying to dress up a prostitute to meet your parents.
Might as well just buy a blow up doll and try to convince everyone that it's a real woman.

 

Well I thank the R&C gods I'm not out in the scrap pile with my thinking on this one.

Some one mentioned "primer". Back in my day , late 40's - early 60's, primer was mark of knowledge. You know..........." that guy with the primed front fender on his 50 Ford is work'n on his car, he knows what hes do'n and has the talent to do it, WOW. So there were more than a few 'go to school " rides that resembled fire house dogs. Today's cars like I herd around are mostly Flat Mat paint, meant to resemble that primed look of yesteryear when money was tight, skirts were short and girls said no, way too much. That's not primer in a lot of cases, but I don't know the mind set of those that like patina that could be primer spots on theirs.

 

Body wise my '39 p/u is just as I bought it with rust, multi colors, and a Studebaker bed. It does has good brakes, a 12 volt conversion, a new 8ba, and is reliable and gets driven almost every day unless it's raining. That said it will never get painted or restored like some ask. Maybe a wipe down with Gibbs oil but nothing else. To me its exactly what I want. My Ranch wagon might get a nice paint job but my truck? Never.

 

I like stuff like Chris' truck, it's real, it's honest, and it can be cleaned up, just look what he's done with it. It's not over the top, it's real world.

That's what I like, real world. Old paint that can still carry a gloss, or even cheap paint that can. It's real, everyday driver stuff. All out show cars are nice, we all wow and drool over them, but $10,000 paint is too nice to drive. Oh, I know some do drive them , but most don't. Flat black can be killer on the right car or truck, but most flat paint looks more like neglect to me.

Hey, I'm cheap. I have to be. That's why I do all my own paint and body. It doesn't have to please anybody but me. It ain't ever going to be perfect, up close you'll see imperfections. I don't want to spend all my time rubbing and waxing my stuff, but I want it clean, and I want to drive it. I want as many blemishes out as I can possibly take out, I just want to wash it and hit the road. It's killing me right now due to things beyond my control that I can't drive mine, but, this too will pass. It's undergoing a rebirth, when it does hit the road again I hope I can keep it there.

 

This AGAIN??????
I like shiny paint, I just can't afford it, and the body work that needs to be done before the painting.
So I do my own body work and paint. I use really cheap paint, so I get to redo it about every 3-4 years. Real cheap paint gets that 20 year old paint look in about 3 years, by the 4th year, it looks pretty bad. That means I get another shot at the body work and another chance to add more runs in the paint. If I keep the car long enough, it actually starts looking pretty good, body wise.
I'm an old dirt track racer, the paint job just has to look good from the stands. That means if it looks good from 20' away, it looks good to me. I drive my stuff, and it sits outside in the weather. Waxing and polishing takes away valuable driving time. The rain does a pretty good job of washing it. Gene

 

More on this truck. I am sorry if I am sharing too much, but I feel this is a great example. I think a guy would be insane to want to repaint thins thing. But I’m sure there are guys who think it could use a paint job? I guess in the end, to each their own. New paint cars/trucks are nice but bore me. Old used cars/trucks get me to pull up a chair and listen to their story

Now I need to finish buffing this thing

 

That’s a clean honest truck
And with it being a farm truck it’s wearing that coat like a badge of honour

 

I completely agree with you on your truck. It looks amazing, and is only original once...so why change it.

 

That's a nice way to put it....I feel the same.

 

My 39 wears its original paint, along with some primer spots, but I dig it. would I like it to be nice and shiny? probably not. Having had cars with really nice paint, I worry to much about it. that makes driving it not as much fun. And while not perfect, it somehow was able to survive with most of its original paint, so I feel like it earned it. it will eventually get painted, but I hate having to stop enjoying it to take it all apart for paint for god knows how long, so it will stay this way just a little more cleaned up and buffed the best I can. I can not support it having rust so as areas be come problems they will be addressed. For now, it will stay as is, and I wont worry about rock chips on the freeway.

 

We don't need schooled, because you know what you like, and I know what I like. My problem is I like them both ways. I do have painted Hot Rods. But I also have one that will never be shinny. When I was first married. My 29 looked a lot like a rr. It will aways be just a bare bones rod, as long as it's mine. Only because that's the way I like it. So the only school lesson here is, just do what you like. You can tell by my wife's face, that she doesn't like it much! lol Ron...[/QUOTE]

 

The paint on my ‘37 has been falling off for years and my ‘51 has a worn finish that was probably applied in the ‘60s. My attitude has changed over the years from wanting a shiny flawless paint job to acceptance of a 20 footer. Preservation rather than restoration.

I was having tires changed recently and one of the young guys working there suggested I do a “patina paint job” and then clear it. I was kind of stunned and replied, ‘how much more patina does it need?’

As time has gone by the paint has slowly worn away. Some of the insults to the paint were inflicted by the prior owner who used it to haul ladders and boards for his house painting business. A couple of years ago I started to see the name “Joe” in small letters on the driver door as the paint covering it eroded.

About ten years ago I repaired some body issues and was going to repaint it. A couple of my friends said it was a local icon and I should keep it as is. The repaired areas were spotted in. Is this a defense of “patina”? Maybe, but in my case it is a preservation of the life it’s lived and remembering old Joe whose brother bought it new.

 

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Let me know when you don't like the UFO anymore, I got a real nice place for it! Love that thing!

 

@proartguy that wagon is killer!!