I think farmergal hit it right on the head. I to am one for "weathered paint" but not rust and rot, or the bare metal with clear over it and call it done. But to each there own,if thats what they like. If you want to keep enjoying your car for years to come you might want to get rid of the rust.
I have to agree with Farmergirl. Weathered paint is one thing rust and rot is a totally different beast. I'm old but I missed the point where rust, rot and general dilapidation became cool. Looking through the thread all I see is old neglected looking cars waiting to become hot rods.
My car doesn't have much paint left on it any more, and I am always confronted with the "why don't you fix it up and paint it" comments all the time. The fact is I actually LIKE the way it looks. I've always liked the way cars look sitting in fields and always thought it would be cool to be able to drive one that way, so I don't feel I'm following a fad, hell, I had the idea 20 years ago when I was building Model cars. So to the people who say I'm doing an injustice to my car, and I'm actually hurting it by letting it rust, I say its in far better hands now than in the hands of whoever let it sit in the field for fifty years or so. Another reason I will never paint it is, as others have stated before, I want to drive it and not worry about what damage I would be doing to a $10k paint job. I've put 55 k miles on it since I finished it in 2007, and of the chips in the windshield are any indication as to what the paint would look like now, well then it would have spent the last 3 years in the garage, because on my first long drive (Columbus OH, if it matters) I got the first and biggest rock chip in the windshield. And just for grins, here's the model I built in '93 or so, the teal frame kinda gives its build date away. I guess it fits here?
Brought this home this summer, drove it off the trailer and into the driveway. 2 weeks later, I traded the body for a roadster body w/ windshield & posts, new floor, patch panels done, great doors, rumble trunk, recessed firewall and new primer black paint..(arg!)...nonetheless, it's going on those "patined" fenders...not too bad, eh?
I've been hammering away on my 54 and have it just about done... He are some recent pics... Cant wait till the weather turns around and I can start driving it..
I can KINDA see it on a survivor hot rod or race car, as to the rest, they just look like unfinished cars that need paint. Sorry, I'm old school, not ol' skool.
Since this is back up top, here's the Caddy I bought back in October, came out of Oklahoma. It'll get shiny paint some day, but I plan on driving and enjoying it as is until then...
So I trailered this thing home and the seller told me the hood was loose,,I thought he meant the bolts were loose not that the hood was not attached at all,,surprised it never flew off
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