Hot Rods Keeping the patina

I have been pounding on my 39 Plymouth fenders and soon will be ready to put some clear over the patina of rust. There are some hints of the original green. I would like to add some green back in and looking for some techniques to do so. Thanks for the tips!

 

Clear over rust looks like sh×t!
Just let it rust...

 

Clear over rust looks really strange....

Patina is something that happens over time. You have it now. If you do anything to it, the patina goes away, and what you have is a refinish job. If you don't like how it looks, blast off the rust and paint it. If you want the original paint to show up, you're going to have to do some abrasive cleaning of some sort, and the rust will no longer look like natural old rust, it'll look like something else.

Are you going to find a 39 plymouth to put those nice fenders on? Or are they just going to be art? Either way, they're nice fenders.

 

Use CLR on the rust, it'll take most, if not all, the rust away, leaves what is left of the oem paint - which can be a surprising amount, w/sorta bare metal where there isn't any rust. But clear over rust isn't good, doesn't come across like clear over primer (Oiled primer look). Rust isn't patina, patina is an old-aged cared-for look to a finish that is rather "soft" looking, as opposed to fresh, shiny, etc.

 

No I have a coupe to put them on. I asked because I tried some paint on a tossed fender and I could not get it to look at all like I wanted. So I should not clear over the rust? No pictures of the coupe I have it at a remote garage for a few weeks.The fenders are sturdy thats for sure my arms ache from pounding out the dents!

 

That is just frigging neglect and decay, not patina.
This is real patina, well kept but showing spots where the finish wore through over the years. An older customer of mine owned this car for years and didn't drive it except around the block because the gas gauge didn't work. He couldn't grasp the concept of always filling the tank at X # of miles and just driving it. It sat under a tarp in his yard until the tarp wore though the paint. I saw it go past me on a trailer one day several years after I last saw him and then saw it at the show where I took the photos.
No decay, no rust, just a well loved old car with time worn paint that still shines. Note: it didn't shine when I saw it on the trailer, the paint looked pretty dead that day.

 

I found a few pictures

 

Leaving rust or clearing over rust to me makes it look like you are too lazy to do it right! Just my opinion. Had a guy tell me anyone can paint a car that was driving a rust patina'd car. I told him that tells me you have never blown one completely apart and painted it correctly!

 

What your plans with the body? You going to strip it back to bare metal and let it sit outside to match the fenders?

 

Well I am not at all lazy I just have a vision of what I want. We all have our own visions.

 

No the body will be painted and the fenders hood and grill will left as is and unending pinstriping on them

 

That's a strange vision.....

 

Some CLR and a scuff pad may reveal there is more color than you thought was there.
As far as adding more color, base coat or lacquer. Dries fast, easy to sand to get the look ya want.
As far as clear goes, try something like Gibs Oil.
Linseed oil can look good as well but Gibs oil holds up better.
Those late 30s Mopars are cool.

 

You do relaize that it will continue to rust under clear coat don't you? It may look like you want for a year or two, but it will start coming thru. Another down side, it may rust thru the metal before the clear. Then you will have more work on your hands.

Patina like that isn't going to impress anyone.

 

'Rust Never Sleeps'
Neil Young

 

"patina of rust"
The perfect explanation of car rust.

 

What’s the plans for the body? It appears to be in primer?

Edit. Never mind, didn’t read all the replies.

 

It is up to you as the owner/builder. Patina can turn out great or look like dog shit. Typically, one or the other. Clearing over some old worn thin paint can be great. Total surface rust; I would leave it as is.

 

I want to see more pics of that car

 

One nice thing about clear-coat rust. It can act as a primer when the next person paints it.
Everything is a personal choice. It’s my personal choice to not look at cars with LS engines, clear-coated rust, or cars/trucks with airbags dropped to the ground.

 

I am trying to unsee the vision,,,,a painted body with rusty fenders.hood and grille.

.

 

That car deserves a shiny paint job. The body will be painted, you need to paint the fenders and hood also. Just my 2 cents.

 

Running rusty fenders with a painted body aren't going to make those butt-ugly 1939 Plymouth headlights look any better so do what thou wilt!

 

Cool car, I respect you want it a certain way. But primer really is finer. JMHO

 

I would hit it with CLR and scotchbrite and not clear it. I built this one in 2015 and it has not degraded a bit, no clear, just the exterior as found. It is garaged when not being driven. Every nut and bolt has been off and everything is restored and painted other than the exterior skin.

 

Well I guess you were only asking about techniques for how to fulfill your vision, and you werent asking us if we thought it would make a cool car with a Hemi look like a dog shit on a Top Hat. I will give you that.

But you know what, painting most of the car, and then having the front guards and panels in rust, will look like dog shit on a Top Hat.

 

Hey, SplainsW;
Afaik, clear doesn't stick well to rust, at least not for long. Clear isn't primer. Although I don't know iffen you can get UV-stabilized clear in epoxy. That might work well.
As AM mentioned, scuff w/clr, & the old oem paint should show through, if & where there is any. You might have each fender a different color... . You're not trying to sand everything off, just let the CLR work & provide some light tooth. Then clear coat it. Although I'd use an etching material on the bare steel to give a bit more bite. The clear'll give a wet-look to the oem paint, & also the bare steel, at least for awhile. Don't expect it to last for years though.
FWIW.
Marcus...

 

I think this subject has been covered before.
Maybe even with a picture of a horse being beaten.

 

i like that neglected look on the outside but i would treat everything underneath with rust converter and underseal everything.

 

the PAINT POLICE have spoken