Bob, I totally get what you are saying. I also have never bought pre faded, or stone washed or acid washed jeans. Or pre-scuffed boots for that matter, never mind the dreaded 'bell bottoms' or 'skinny jeans'. I just like my new stiff ones best after a couple washings, and a few days work in them. As for the 'fad' thing, I did the '38 project 25 years ago. Long before the old patina thing was considered cool (outside of museums that is). Rat rods ARE a fad. Some are relatively clever, but I don't care to see another vehicle painted flat black with wide whites and red wheels. I actually have only seen one rat rod ever in person, Having only been to one 'car show' in my life, and it was in the parking lot. We need only one example of what I'm talking about to validate the 'creating aged paint' subject we are discussing here, and that is the original post from Aussie Cowboy. A 1927 buckboard, faded sky blue original paint, with that dusty, Australian patina, but a mis-matched hood. If he was to repaint that rig with cheap hardware store paint or the most expensive synthetic enamel (gag), just to make the hood match the rest, he would be losing something that can't be replaced. There are many 'schools' in our hobby of old ford trucks. I'm just glad we all get to do it exactly the way we want, and that there are no 'paint police' I have to hide from. God knows I try to hide my whole place from the local building dept. already.

 

Funny, we both thought of 'bell bottoms'. You type faster than me..... OK, and not so wordy

 

Great minds think alike.. lol..

But what can I say, I love my phone .. You nailed it though! Honestly I couldn't have said it any better.. In reality, the word fad scares me because I find myself using it more and more to call out the younger crowds.. it must mean I'm getting older or something!? and yes I HATE rat rods by the way!!

 

I gave my Toro a fresh paint job. Love the golf course tractors.

 

And I don't think the Iphone is a fad. It is fast becoming a way of life. Someday I will probably succumb to one of those. My two best buddys on the island have never used a computer, or a cell phone, and they both run businesses.. They think they are both a fad, or at best, some yuppie contraption. They are 58, and 64 years old. Dang, I better get down to the wood shop and get to work..... Building beat up looking doors, cabinets and furniture for the extremely wealthy, using ancient wood salvaged from old factories, barns and mills, since 1979. www.mtpickettwoodworking.com or Mt. Pickett Woodworking on facebook, for the youngsters. Works for me.

 

Beautiful Toro! See, I like paint too. I have painted a few things. over and out, til lunch.

 

What I'm trying to get across is my opinion that going through all the work to make a vehicle look old and beat up is a waste of time, again my opinion. I understand if you bought a car that was either in worn condition or if you bought it in pristine condition and it faded over time and you don't mind the way it looks. What gets me is fads where someone will do as much, or more, work to achieve a worn out look. Just like the $100 jeans hanging on the clothes rack that are beat to hell by driving over them and literally shooting with a shot gun.

I finished my F-2 going on 20 years ago. At the time I did as close to perfect body and paint work as I could and it was close to show quality. Over the years I've used it like it was meant to be used. I don't load it with a box full of gravel but I do haul lumber and bags of feed and cement in the box. I don't go out of my way to beat it up though. It's starting to show wear in the bubbling rust in the bottom of the fenders and has a few scratches and minor dents. I don't like them but I'm not the type the will run around the truck and fix every imperfection as they pop up. I like driving the truck more than fixing it. I will however when it comes time to clean it up, do my very best to make it look new again.

 

Thanks....I had a lot of fun redoing it. Heck never saw one before I saw this one.

I think the patina'd paint is not necessarily a fad because worn paints been around as long as anything has been old , I think it's popular now because it looks good, you can use inexpensive materials and it's easy to hide mistakes. When I paint my 49 dump, The plan is to age the paint primarily to cover my novice paint skills and make me feel better when I DO scratch the paint

Steam punk will probably be a fad.


GB, in the sense that your using it, to match up to an existing weathered paint, is very appropriate. First rule of bodywork is to "match the condition of the vehicle" and if it's weathered then the repair needs to be weathered...

 

Loving your work GB. I can see both sides of the argument here, I'm on both sides! I have shiny cars and I have original paint cars too. There is a question of time and money to consider as well, this Pontiac came to me literally as a trailer load of parts. If I do shiny paint then I have to fix all the dents, and the surface rust and pitting, and smooth over the beautiful gas welded vintage patch panels. And then I can't sit a shiny body on a dull chassis and driveline, so that all needs to be prepped and painted. The chrome will need to be done too. Naturally then I can't have Indian blanket covered seats so it's off to the upholsterers. Before I know it I've done a nut and bolt restoration and spent 18 months and 20k doing it. This way I can bang the car together in a couple of weeks and have some fun driving the wheels off it. Of all my 1920s cars it's the unrestored ones that get the most attention, by a long way. They are the most fun too, dirt, gravel, creek beds, mud, they see it all.

 

We had a number of them on the farm when I was young . If my cousins and I could get them running we could have them . We had a rally course around the countryside that we raced on . The point is I agree with you , they are more fun if your not afraid to scratch them .

 

I DO have an older rig that I wash and keep shiney. I even waxed the hubcaps a couple weeks ago, inside and out!

 

Creating fake patina is a waste of time IMO, you either have it or you dont. Here are a couple of my cars that do have it, wont have paint any time soon other than what is left of the original.

 

To each their own. If I'm trying to complete a car that is already 90% original paint then I don't see a drama with trying to match the last 10%.

 

The "fad" has been around for years and it isnt going away. Plenty of projects have stalled because the owner didnt have the cash for a paint job and let it sit when they could of been driving it. My "patina" rods get thumbs up everywhere and at car shows get more attention than the painted cars just because they are something different. Ever get a rock chip in your fresh paint? No need to worry about that with a patina rod. Drive it anywhere without worry. No worries about door dings because nobody wants to part next to it Notice I didnt say "rat rod", my cars are frame off rotisserie builds and are not rat rods. We both started our 37 buick builds I think around the same time, actually I think you had yours before mine, have you priced rubber for the car yet? You just may go patina rod!

 

10% no biggie. When I see full new paint jobs sanded through to primer to look old it looks horrible IMO.