Has the "patina" trend caught on here yet?

Being a car guy whose interests go in several directions, I enjoy visiting thesamba, a VW enthusiast site.

I've noticed that those guys go to extreme lengths to preserve patina, otherwise called surface rust and faded paint:D. I was curious if that's a movement here yet. If so I'm in because my '73 Sport has plenty of burned painted and surface rust from the scorching hot Texas sun where it lived until 4 years ago.

Speaking of the VW community, a BIG thing with them are what's known as "logo" buses or pickups(the transporters). They go to extreme lengths to preserve the decades-old signage on those vehicles. One guy bought a "logo" bus that had been parked under cover since 1964, got it running and driving, then a couple years later got rear-ended HARD on a road trip. They spent untold time and money and effort to get one of the best metal guys around to replace what had to be replaced internally and then massage all the exterior sheetmetal back into place with NO paintwork done to the bus. They did it and it's almost ready to go back on the road. Mind you, this was not a restored bus, and estimates of the repair costs are probably around 7K.

If you would like to read that story, google "Coram Rug Works bus", it'll take you right to it.