PATINA

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I learned decades ago, IF I do a nut and bolt job on a model that has "value", I better sell it because I could not make myself NOT drive it and get a "flaw" on it. And I could not let it sit and not drive it. So the answer was to NOT buy any high end models to build or restore at all! Back when a good one was easy to find and affordable.

But ever since, IF I buy a project and it has any rust holes I have to cut that out, I can't help myself,, weld in a patch panel, so that has to be epoxied primed, then I see it needs filler, blocking, sealing with primer..... you know how it snowballs!!!!!

Too find a virgin old car, never painted, kept under a roof the last 60 years...... yea surface rust gives it character, fine and wonderful...but how many do you ever find and still not be priced like a doper owns it!?

The worst thing today, is the decent running project, painted 20 years ago, does not look that bad except where you see the Bondo falling of, and the banged up metal and rust under that. And the seller still wants way too much and brags on it patina!!!! NOoooooo.
 
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LO23M8B said:
I think the bead locks give it away.
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Till they see a Thermoquad...

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Purposely sold all the shiny cars.

I call bs on fake patina, put some dents in it dammit, then we'll talk.

Green car changes colors as it looses paint and gets sun baked, and dents.

White car is just perfectly shifty.

I'll never put anything on to 'preserve' or worse, make it shine.

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matthon said:
Purposely sold all the shiny cars.

I call bs on fake patina, put some dents in it dammit, then we'll talk.

Green car changes colors as it looses paint and gets sun baked, and dents.

White car is just perfectly shifty.

I'll never put anything on to 'preserve' or worse, make it shine.

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Like the younger guy said other day, most of the "older "hobby guys that did their own body/paint, did interiors, stuff besides changing hear gaskets... have sold their place to live in a smaller place with no place to work on such or desire OR home wearing diapers! I relate!

Patina is a word used at the high end antique store or for the guy that has no desire or ability to make it look better? Me, I just say get it on the road, and let the fluff wait until.........:thumbsup:
 
Patina…..I love it. Not the fake kind, the “I’ve been loved, driven, and put away wet at times, but I’m still here and ready for action. I’ve done restorations, but with the price of everything now, I prefer preservations. I don’t have to worry about leaning on the RR, I don’t have to worry about using the Ramcharger to plow snow. I just want to drive them. Sure, I could spend countless $1000’s of dollars, and years restoring cars, but I would miss out on beating the crap out of them.

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mopowers said:
The older I get, the more I tend to favor rough paint. Having a nice paint job is too stressful and doesn't really matter to me to begin with as long as it's structurally and mechanically sound.
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Agree. I’ve had cars with nice paint…PITA

This car was painted 30 years ago over the original Y4 gold.

Sat on a guys property for 15 years until I purchased it. Went through all the mechanicals and don’t worry about where I park. It’s all one color and that’s all that matters. :)


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cosgig said:
Patina…..I love it. Not the fake kind, the “I’ve been loved, driven, and put away wet at times, but I’m still here and ready for action. I’ve done restorations, but with the price of everything now, I prefer preservations. I don’t have to worry about leaning on the RR, I don’t have to worry about using the Ramcharger to plow snow. I just want to drive them. Sure, I could spend countless $1000’s of dollars, and years restoring cars, but I would miss out on beating the crap out of them.

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The Road Runner is badASS.
 
My budget tells me that I really really like patina on my Dart. It’s a decent 20 footer. Would I like a new paint job? Sure… if and when it happens, it would be after the laundry list of stuff I want and/or need gets done first. It’s good from afar but far from good lol. My car has been repainted at some point in the past. It’s probably been decades ago and that shows patina.. LL1 looks really nice when it’s fresh and this isn’t it. It’s sadly a little darker than it should be. I’ve gotten a lot of comments on the shade of green that it is though.

I think original wear and tear looks good on those cars… the intentional patina, especially when they bury it in clear… hard pass. Reminds me of the Murphy Lab Gibson guitars… they intentionally dent, scratch, and weather check the finish… and charge a heafty premium on an already stupidly expensive guitar for it. The reality of it, someone that heavily gigged the guitar for 40 years probably wouldn’t have that much wear on them.. unless it was intentional
 

Some assholes say they don't understand the point of having patina. They say just restore the body and put new shiny paint. That argument would make sense for those who do 20-30K fake patina paint jobs, but for us with original patina it's different. I like just the right amount of original patina, it is like a badge of honor for the car that was not garaged at 68 degrees and babied. It shows, most of the time, that the car is a survivor of its environment with its own unique scars to show-off.

Of course the other and completely understandable reasons for leaving "patina" on the car is the cost and labor of a new paint job. It's a ton of work sometimes to do body work and repaint an entire car, and that might take a long time to get done properly. We have seen and heard the problems with classic car projects that never get done or even half way. People bite more than they can chew by dismantling their car and it becomes so much work that it takes years to restore or just never goes back together again. If the body is solid, why not just enjoy the car and fix some little things here and there once in awhile, fixing the paint can wait, sometimes forever. Enjoy the character of the aged paint and not have to stress about keeping the car shiny, embrace the patina, because life is short.

Here is my car with patina, but I do plan on repainting just the out side some day. It would be cool to keep the patina, but the paint rubs off to easily. At least I can enjoy it anytime I want too for now.
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At weeknight cruise-ins the hood is seating and a table for greasy burgers and fries.

I can also put a screwdriver on it, anywhere.

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