"Patina" or "Paint that sh*t"

[silver_bullet]

i think that the patina thing can be cool, but it's getting overdone... every one of our vehicles is a driver and needs work...but I will not condone efforts made to make it look worse... survivors are one thing...so called faux patina is quite another... not even in the same class...

[Gary 351C]

^^^ That's why I put an $800 paint job on the Crown Vic. Because I knew some clod would run into it soon, and sure enough, 2 months later they scraped the left rear bumper.

[yellomalibu]

If a car or truck (of mine) isn't painted, it's because either it doesn't need it or I'm working toward getting it done. To see a survivor is one thing, but down here in FL where it rains a lot, patina turns into cancer before you know it.

Y'all remember the beater truck I bought for $1000 about a year and a half ago, that I took to Maaco last July? I wanted it to look presentable, but kept in mind that it's a daily driver AND my work truck. It needed to look presentable... so I spent $831 for a few upgrades and came away with a really nice paint job, for the money.

What happened this past Wednesday? You guessed it. There's even a minor dent to go with the chipped paint. I was angry for about 5 seconds, then I was over it (because remaining angry is a waste of energy and emotion)...

[catchmeblue70]

Rust is like wrinkles...prevent that sh*t. I don't mind faded paint, but rust just looks bad and I don't care if there's a "it sat in a field for 60 years but I lovingly rescued it and left it as is" story. Patina, fine, you caught it before it rusted out, but don't leave it unprotected any more. At least invest in a good clear coat; I'm sure they make a matte kind if you don't want it shiny. As for any vehicle I will ever own, they're getting painted...I've already got the paint picked out for the Chevelle I don't have yet. The jury is still out on what happens to the Mustang's paint. I will say, I do like the bare metal look...the *good* kind that's intentional and staying that way.

[Russell]

Shiny paint shows off dents. I like some cars that have real patina. Any body with enough money can have shiny. Finding true patina can be difficult. I am on the fence if I am going to keep the capri, let alone try to make it pretty. If I had a $1000 air compressor in stead of a $100 air compressor, I think I would be more excited about doing paint and body (need to go work on the 98!) Ramble over everybody likes pictures!

[SuperBuickGuy]

not a fan.... it's been done, I'm ready for whatever is next

[AFFORDILLAC]

I personally love that Chevy trucks look! To me there's a story about how long it sat unattended to achieve that look. Then someone went through the effort to make it road worthy and produce those badass wheels with the original hub caps and bolt on new chrome. I jus think I can appreciate any hot rod someone puts the effort into that looks cool to me...paint or no paint.

[squirrel]

I've always thought the most important part of a car from the body work perspective is the hood and tops of the fenders - that's all you can see from the driver seat.

My friend who painted a few of our cars before moving away 20 years ago said that he spent the most time on the hood, because that's what the customer sees the most. And he never worried about trying to get both sides of the car exactly the same when doing bodywork, because you only see one side at a time.

Things to beware of when you're getting paint work done by a pro

[milner351]

Of all the great advice I've gotten here over the years, one quote stands out above them all and speaks to my inner perfectionist - profoundly....

"DON'T LET PERFECT GET IN THE WAY OF DONE"

To each their own.
Don't expect riddler quality from a $20 paint gun, $60 a gallon paint, and your driveway.
Don't expect a guy to paint your car for $4000, and have it look like the $15,000+ autorama stuff.
If you did it yourself, learned a lot, saved a ton of money in the process, and it looks good driving by - you win!

I've always thought the most important part of a car from the body work perspective is the hood and tops of the fenders - that's all you can see from the driver seat.

[squirrel]

Thanks Dan for explaining why I painted my one ton truck with a paintbrush....it looks OK (except from up close), and it is DONE.

[Bob Holmes]

I'm pretty much with Stiney on this one. The whole "survivor" idea appeals to me. The car is only original once, and there is nothing wrong with it showing its age. I like trucks and cars where you can see that the occupants liked to hang their arm on the window opening, I like seeing the evidence of use. But I like that cleaned and waxed and well kept.

Now, I'm not saying that a raging rust sore should stay a raging rust sore. There is a time to admit that time and the elements have gotten the better of the vehicle, and arrange for a repaint.

Anyone that fakes patina should be ran out of the hobby.

[STINEY]

Gaping rust holes = fix that crap.

A little rough around the edges and a driver = kudos for actually driving the thing.

Weathered by Nature naturally over a period of 30-40 years and managed to avoid anyone mucking up what took so long to do?

Perfection. Love it.

Most of my junk falls into the "embarassing but fun to drive" group. This one is beautiful. Originally Coral Red, good complete recolor probably in the late 60's to a nice shade of baby blue, then weathered partially back to some red in the next 50 years.



I like how you can see the passes from the paint gun during the repaint.

[BBR]

Not a fan of rusty cars, but faded paint is A-ok. (this would be obvious to anyone who has seen my car. lol)

[DanStokes]

I've said this before on here so I'll say it again.

"Back in the day" (I was there) NOBODY wanted a rusty or primered car. If you saw someone driving one they would apologize and explain that they were saving money for paint. No, NOT a paint job - paint. We all chipped in and helped each other sand and paint our cars.

This gets me to another pet peeve. Why does every hot rod have to have Riddler quality paint? If your going to drive the car, a decent paint job is plenty good enough. If you can't do anything else do MAACO. A 5 or 10 footer is actually best for a driver as it'll get chips, parking lot dents, and the like. I strive for OEM quality and I think that's plenty good enough.

So - NO on the patina for me. Should this be a poll?

Dan

[JOES66FURY]

I think the difference here is a nice, eye pleasing patina and a rusted hulk of shit...


I for one would rather look at a car that has nice paint, or worn original paint. Trucks that are rough but well built are cool....but stuff that looks like it was pulled from the bottom of a swamp after 30 years and patched together with street signs, bubblegum, chicken wire and bondo with a side of nice new big inch rims do nothing...NOTHING for me...