Hot Rods Talk about your "fake" patina!

This winter I am going to build a "turtle deck" for my T to house the battery, fuel pump, and fuse panel after installing a new wiring harness. Not knowing the paint color, I have been kicking around various different ideas. Being a bit of an artist, one idea keeps coming back. I'm thinking about painting it rusty! Talking about a paint job that would make it look like I dragged it out of the desert, complete with streaks and mixes of various rust shades... I know, I know, I am not into the whole fake patina thing either. But the challenge would be to actually make it look authentic. The car will never be a show car, and I think it would be fun and different. It would be fun to fool a couple of people, but I wouldn't lie about it, eventually telling them that it is fiberglass! It won't be a r@t rod, won't have any useless crap stuck on it. All the bling will stay on the engine etc.

 

Well it's really easy.
Buy a real T turtle deck and use it.

 

Unfortunately, I am on a fixed income and a very limited budget... growing up on a farm, I remember an old rusty turtle deck in the woods on our property. None of the rest of the body was there. My father told me that the T it came from was probably converted to a pickup...

 

It's not a popular way to go around these parts, but it's your car and you have your own vision and budget for it.
Just apply the 50 Foot Rule.......
at 40 miles an hour......
with one eye shut......
in the moonlight......
on horseback.

 

May as well paint Hemi on your valve covers while you're at it. Be fun to fool people.

 

fake is fake

 

Looking for fun, not fake... also the challenge of making it look real. Air brush some streaks etc.

 

I say do it if you want to. It's just paint. If you don't like it later you can change it.

 

To be real patina shouldnt you paint cracks on the glass body?

 

Thinking about installing some door hinges and a door handle on the passenger side, black pinstripe where the door gap would be. I have been looking at different rust buckets on the "sitting and rotting" picture thread for inspiration...
On another note, I overheard a dad telling his son at a show I was at, that the only thing original on my car was the body...

 

The trick is to make it look like real patina.....not like fake patina. Give it a try, it's only paint and you can always change it up. Sounds like a fun winter project to me!

 

Thanks for the positive reply. It's going to be tricky getting it just right. The patina will probably need kind of a "gritty" look.

 

If you are going to put fake hinges, fake door handle,fake black opening , just make a real door,real handle, and real opening seam on a real door....much easier to get in!

 

Oh yea, my first "rod" was a Shay model A replica. Some old guy told my wife we ruined an old antique when we put mags on it

 

I have thought about putting in a door, but it would weaken the body without extensive bracing. Right now it's got solid steel rod around the upper edge of the body. I'm still limber enough to step into it. Maybe someday...

 

Well if your looking for opinions, rust aint patina, and I personally think a rusty looking turtle deck on a painted body will look kinda silly.

Mick

 

This is an easy call. Just do what I did with an old reproduction pistol. Make your turtle deck out of metal and bury it for a few months. Dig it up, scrape the worst rust off and viola!

 

This place has gotten so "PC" it's almost unrecognizable , when did the pussy patrol take over ???

 

The flat black, primer look is a valid option. It's cheap, simple and stress-free if you have to do a touch-up. It makes a statement that other things are a priority over shiny paint right now and it keeps the followers of The World Wide Church Of Tradition off your back.
If you get those "You gon'na paint that?" questions, you can say "Yep." and blow it off or you can say "Flat black is paint. Wad'ya talking about?", whatever you feel like at the moment.
Paint's just for looking back at your car as you're walking away. The hard parts are for enjoying every ride to your destinations.

 

It could be worse he could be painting Skulls and Spider Webs on it.

 

Not trying to be a jerk, but people seem to spend way more time and money making something look old and crusty. This type of thought is so foreign to me. I am constantly trying to hone my skills to make my stuff look better. I hear you are on a fixed income, never having cash is why I am self taught. Not great at anything, but very seldom do I farm things out.

 

You have got a fiberglass body and paint rust on it. I can't believe I keep seeing it.

 

Fake, or perhaps 'simulated' is traditional..........wood grain dashboards and window garnish moldings were standard OEM trim for everything from Plymouths to Packards.........the wood grain side trim of station wagons of most manufacturers after 1951.....same thing. And then there is vinyl upholstery that looks like leather is still very common, and likely in several HAMBer's hot rods. edit: And, how about boob jobs and those 'simulated' gemstones and pearls you guys buy for your GF...

It really is laughable that the Hooligan Hot Rodders work so hard to be seen as semi-outlaws and yet insist that everyone be strictly within the lines.

@rustydusty seems to be doing the best he can with limited resources and still be part of the hobby. A rusty looking paint finish is, after all, just a 'color'. I can embrace that idea better than the 'lace' paint that was, and is, still seen and garners compliments every time someone posts a pic of it.

Ray

 

I've used some chemicals from Sculpt Nouveau for metal furniture projects to create different patina effects. They have quite alot of options, and for various types of metal too. Lots of videos on youtube showing how to use them.

Is it real? well... it's a chemical reaction to force oxidation, so I suppose it is real.

https://sculptnouveau.com/

 

Lace belongs in the bedroom, not in the garage.

 

Want rust? Water it down, sprinkle some iron powder on it and let mother nature do the rest.....done.

 

Rustydusty .... are you just bored?
If the roadster in your avatar is your car, why would you consider doing this to a nicely painted car?
Leave the car alone and stop at a dumpster and pick out some stuff to drag home and paint them old if you want, but don't ruin your car.

 

My dad had a Shay A . He took it to church one Sunday and afterwards the Priest came over to admire the car. He knocked on the fender and said, "They don't make'em like they used to"

 

Patina looks like neglect. Why make a good looking car look like it has been neglected?

 

The idea was to paint the whole car and grill shell, not just the turtle deck. Not knowing the exact color that is on the car to match the turtle deck I'm building is the issue. The paint on the car is nice but not perfect, just want all the parts to match. Satin black is always an option. And yes, it is my car in the avatar. Just have to get rid of the clunky box a previous owner built from 2×6s. I may just build the turtle deck out of solid mahogany and varnish the hell out of it! After all, l am a retired yacht carpenter...