I have had a lot of people asking about my approach at faux patina. We have all seen vehicles covered with primer, then a thin layer of paint, that then has every edges, nook and cranny sanded off, to resemble patina. It's become cliche at nearly every car show and rod run that we attend. Now, I am not knocking it. I think it's awesome that guys are doing something outside of the conventional approach to hot rodding. Something that every guy can actually pull off in his garage with very limited skill and equipment. Buuuuut, Where is the texture? Where is the rust? Where is the faded portion? Where is the drama? So, I thought I would do a quick post on how I do mine. It is only slightly more involved and 100% achievable for a backyard guy, that doesn't want to spend 25 grand on a concourse level paint job for his project car. Hopefully others can chime on on this thread as well, if they have any tips or tricks they use. Oh, and if you're a faux patina hater, just move along. This thread isn't for you, and I get it. I totally get it.

I am skipping past the most basic parts, like sanding and prep or any kind of metal fab or repair. Now, this is by no means a concourse level paint job. It's backyard faux patina that you can pull off at home, over the weekend, for a couple hundred bucks. Oh, also I should note that this is done entirely with spray paint, just regular old bomb cans! The colors for the rust effect are reddish brown, a dark mocha color and bright orange. If you can find satin or matte colors, even better. My topcoat color is red, and I used gloss for the that. It takes more than a few cans to do an entire vehicle, but this process is only adding a thin level of coverage. If a guy wanted, a topcoat of matte clear could be added for more protection.







No base layer is used. This truck was purple and in pretty good condition. I started in with a single coat of red oxide color, over the areas that I would eventually want the rusty patina to appear.





Over that, I literally take a squirt bottle of water and wet a small area, while simultaneously spraying in a very light coat of the dark brown. Hold your pattern back from the panel. You aren't doing a conventional coat. This is more like applying overspray, with uneven coverage. You want it to look blotchy. Put a little more of the dark color in areas of damage, or where heavier rust might appear. Work in sections, blending as you go. Blot the area dry with a micro fiber towel and re-wet with water between coats. You are only using a very small amount of paint, so it can be blotted dry fairly quickly, with only a few minutes of dry time. If you blot it dry before the paint has flashed off enough, don't worry. You just added more patina! This step can be repeated, so sneak up on it gradually. Once that coat is achieved, you use the same approach with Orange. Again, go lightly and layer it. The water droplets act like a paint mask. This is actually an OLD custom paint trick, that I have tweaked a little to achieve a simple rust effect. If you soak the area enough, you can even get a streaking effect, which really mimics heavy rust running down a panel. Go lightly with the streaking effect, as a little goes a long way. Once each coat flashes off very slightly, the water is dabbed away with a micro fiber towel again. Keep in mind, you only want to apply paint over the wet area. Avoid spraying paint on an otherwise dry section, as that diminishes the effect and just comes off looking like overspray. This is arts and crafts at it's finest. Traditional painters will really struggle with the process, because it goes against everything that we are taught and know about how to apply a finish. Once you are close, it will look like this









Now, to add the top coat. You are not painting the entire vehicle at this time. Start with the areas that you want a noticeable patina or weathering effect. I directed mine at the corners of the front window, around the gas filler, where your arm would naturally rest on the side window opening, anywhere you would expect heavy weathering, rust or damage. There are two ways to add the patina effect. In the picture below, I am using both. mainly, I am also using the same technique that I used for the rust, around the window openings, door handle area and body line of the door. Furthermore, You can see some kitty litter on the running boards that will act as a mask. I will explain how that works. I also used this process in the corners of the front windshield and a little bit on the corners of the rear fenders. When completed, it resembles heavy chipping with rust underneath.







This is how the floor dry or kitty litter trick works. In this approach, Kitty litter acts as your paint mask. This gives a rougher look than using the squirt bottle trick. It's easy to do. Just wet the area with water, pile up your kitty litter where you want rust chips, or even heavy rust areas. The water simply holds the kitty litter in place. The more kitty litter you use, the lighter the effect. Once the kitty litter is where you want it, lightly spray in some top coat color. In the pic below I have just started to spray in my red top color. Again, this is done with the spray pattern held back, more like an overspray for coverage. Always remember, VERY little paint. You can always layer more if need.





The entire time you are adding paint, keep in mind how it would naturally weather. In areas that have coverage, say under the bedrails, on the sides of the bed, it is pretty well protected. So, that area would naturally be in better condition than say, the top of the hood. We all know that bottoms of doors, rockers and fenders are almost always rusty areas. Well, more there should be more patina and less topcoat in those areas. You can see in the following picture how I left the edges, right against the windshield pretty dark, because that's how it would really weather. Once the masking is removed, it is pretty realistic looking, at least for a very very basic paint technique. Let it flash off for a very short time, because remember you are using very little paint here. Then, knock the kitty litter off, and you will get this.







The other approach to topcoat is the same as the rust effect. A water bottle is your friend. Just wet it and fog in paint. I do this on every other area to be coated. Nowhere on the vehicle gets paint, without some sort of water or kitty litter being in place.






Here, I have used both approaches in the same area. Those of us with old trucks know what the area under the gas cap looks like.








Once I have my heavy patina areas done, I simply fill in the blanks using the same squirt bottle of water and layering in the top color until the overall look is achieved. On my truck, I didn't really want HEAVY patina, so it is harder to see in pictures. I wanted it to looks like a fairly well preserved truck that maybe sat in a barn for 40 years. In person, the look pulls off well. You could definitely make the appearance a lot more dramatic if desired.

 

Here is a GREAT place to use this paint technique. Don't burn me at the stake for posting this, because it is just a paint example. I know we all hate those Chevy guys! However, A buddy of mine built this rather cool, all original, very real patina C-10. But, like many vehicles with natural patina, there is often a panel that is a little too far gone with rust, both front fenders and both rockers and inner floors in this case. Often times, you find a car or truck with great patina, but there is a mismatched body panel. Could you imagine this truck with a yellow fender? It loses its appeal and starts to look like just another patched together jalopy.....




Now, with a little color matched single stage and the same basic patina technique as above, even a died in the wool car guy would be hard pressed to know that its not all real.

 

I'm not particularly on either end of the spectrum of concourse nor rat rod, but somewhere in between. Living in a coastal area patina is going to come to me through seagull poo and salt air. I do however want to put some lettering of what we've named our property on the doors of my truck and an octopus crawling across the hood. I bought the truck to use so making it fancy will defeat rough use, but I also don't want it to look sloppy cheap.

I'm considering stencils, painting, and then softening and sanding thin the letters and graphic.
The current paint has some character and the only thing stopping me is I've got to get it right the first time to avoid a total botched job.. Below is a rough concept of the lettering.

 

Unless you have a steady hand or know a good sign painter, a paint mask or stencil will be your easiest approach. You can find yourself a sign shop that does vinyl lettering and have them cut your images. I often use nothing more than vinyl transfer tape as my paint mask. It works fairly well and its cheap. Here is what I did do add a weathered look to my door lettering......






Once You have the mask in place, you simply protect the surrounding areas from overspray and spray it. This can be done with an airbrush, paint can, or even a brush if you want to add some authentic texture. Note, if you're using a brush, it is a good idea to spray the pattern first. This will lock in the edges a little tighter.




On my truck, I wanted the lettering to look weathered. So, I used VERY little paint. You can even leave it almost see-through in areas if you want a really faded look. You can also add layers to your masking. You can see that I added drop shadows and different colors to mine. Once completed, I unmasked and went over the artwork with 2000 grit wet sand, just to barely knock the edges down and flatten out the shine a little more.

 

Thank you for the tutorial. I'm going to devote a little more thought into this idea. I like what you've done.

 

Heres an added effect (or affectation, depending on one's opinion) to using stencils:
Use yer One Shot and a brush. Once you're 100% sure you've filled in all the negative areas, go back over it for brush marks, mimicking what a freehand sign painter would have done.. After a light sanding (aging) some of the lighter and heavier marks will show through giving the appearance that it was hand-lettered.
l love this stuff.
Thanks for the great write-up, @Moongypsy .

Kitty litter... GENIUS. I've been trying to figure out how to keep rock salt and coffee grounds from blowing away! And cat litter is already in the garage (mostly already on the floor).

ETA: After a second read through, l see that @SHMO already mentioned this "trick"... my apologies