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I have a 76 F-150 that’s a former farm truck which I bought off the granddaughter of the original owner. It has tons of dents, dings, etc from its life on the farm, including some larger dents on the bedsides from cattle leaning on it to feed out of the bed (as the story goes). I love that history!
However, some of the dents are rather ugly and I’d like to get ride of them. The original paint is still in fairly good condition with a decent amount of gloss. I also attempted to create a bullseye effect on some of the chips/dents, and got a bit too aggressive in a couple spots leaving some ugly halos from wet sanding too deep (last pic)… Idiot. I don’t like the way that looks.
So what I’m considering doing is a “partial patina” meaning I would fix all of the dents/dings in the lower Hatteras green portion of the truck and repaint it, but leave the upper Wimbledon white as is. The driver front fender is already brand new and repainted, so it’s kind of just continuing that theme around the truck.
My question for the group is… Is that even a thing?? Would it look stupid and/or ruin the spirit of the truck? Creases in door Big deep dent in door Bedside dents Bedside dents Halos from wet sanding too deep… 🤦♂️
Last edited by 76FarmTruck; Nov 22, 2025 at 11:24 AM.
In my opinion, it would look like you were halfway done restoring it. patina is a term used too often for either not wanting, or not having the resources to restore a vehicle. if it's original paint that's well-worn but the rig is otherwise pretty straight and rust free, I like that and its patina. anything less is a restoration project.
Fix it. That's not "patina", that's damage and that rust/damage to the door edge is eventually going to turn to rot. As 440 said, it's your rig, but my opinion is that the character of the truck dictates a straight body especially since that powertrain installation was so meticulously done.
Then leave it. Maybe have those bigger dents pulled and put some rust encapsulator on the exposed metal? Sounds like you already know what you want to do.
I actually don’t know what I want to do. I have different ideas but working on figuring out which direction I want to go. Hence the post and poll. Crowd sourcing opinions. That said, I appreciate your perspective on completely restoring it.
Not that mine is worth comparing to, but I’d be thrilled to have my paint looking that good. I’d try to pull/dolley the big dents, either touch up or seal the rust spots, and spend the money for paint on something else.
If you’re painting it yourself, go nuts. As much as money is in shorter supply for most of us these days, save where you can.
My truck body is like yours, dents and dings but mostly painted. I also have a few other “nice” old vehicle with 2-3 foot paint. I love my truck because I drive and park it anywhere I want and I don’t give a damn about a little scratch. I use the truck. My other vehicle with nice paint is worrisome lol.
I am fixing structural and mechanical, the rest is as it came.
I would drive it as is, looking at the big picture of the overall truck, to me it is sick and slick. A little dent and ding who cares, it has a rock solid look, stance, and tire rim choice. Only thing I do not like is the Coyote plate used to try and cover up the lower bracket holes from the type 9 mirrors. Just put some pan/allen head stainless steel bolts in there and drive and enjoy it. I know I would easy enough.
There is no patina there I see. Drive and enjoy. Spend your money and time making sure its reliable and safe. Paint and body work is terribly expensive today unless you have the shop, tools, and skill do do everything yourself and even then it ain't cheap!
Your truck is awesome! Fix it if it bothers you, but anything more you do will just make it that much better!! I would drive and enjoy it like it is and possibly do the repairs down the road some time. Really sweet looking ride!!!!
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