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Painting Faux Patina - An Old Look For A New RodPurposeful Patina From the July, 2008 issue of Street Rodder By Jim Rizzo
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If you're starting from scratch... If you're starting from scratch on a fresh panel, you may want to use different color primers or paint on different panels like the hood, decklid, or roof rail. This will give the impression of different areas of bodywork, or paintjobs, a vehicle could have received during its lifetime. We've all listened to the occasional stories of lucky devils who stumble across those legendary unmolested hot rods, and there's not a one of us who doesn't wish we had been so lucky. Unfortunately, discoveries such as those are rare and only getting more so. Enter the faux barn-find phenomenon, or purposeful patina-the art of making a silk purse into a sow's ear, so to speak. It's not everyone's taste, but a growing number of folks are working hard to make their hot rods look the part of vehicle with a long, hard life under its belt. It doesn't take a lot of work or talent to reduce a paintjob to the well-worn look of your favorite pair of broken-in jeans. That said, here's a few tips on how to achieve that time-worn look for those who might consider buildin' a cool hot rod with the look of an old-timer. After you're done, you can spend more time driving and enjoying your old-timey hot rod than polishing and protecting it.  One of my all-time favorite...  One of my all-time favorite patina'd examples is George Poteet's F-1 pickup. The master, Josh Shaw, did this patina job, and, although I've seen the truck dozens of times, I still marvel at how "real" the faux wear looks-plus Josh's door art is cool, too.  The basic trick to achieving...  The basic trick to achieving a patina'd finish is to speed up the natural wear on any existing paintjob-which is usually caused by years of washing and polishing-by rubbing through the top finish and exposing some of the undercoat. I used a rattle can of silver paint on the side roof rail with the hope of achieving a look like the finish had been worn down to metal.  As you can see, in addition...  As you can see, in addition to the cowl and side roof rail sections, I also decided to patina a section of the beltline at the rear side window and the rear upper section of the quarter-panel.  The next step was a topcoat,...  The next step was a topcoat, be it black primer, as in this case, or actual paint. The amount of coats will determine the amount of sanding you'll need to do in order to expose the basecoat, so keep that in mind.  This type of operation is...  This type of operation is best achieved with the use of wet-sanding paper. Dry paper will work, but the lubricating action offered by wet-sanding gives better control of how much of the basecoat you expose.  For my example, I used a combination...  For my example, I used a combination of both 600- and 800-grit papers. Additionally, I always use a couple of drops of dish-washing liquid in my bucket, which acts as a good lubricant and helps the paper slide over the surface without sticking.  A few strokes-OK, about 40...  A few strokes-OK, about 40 or 50 seconds worth, anyway-of sanding produced this result. How far you go or how much basecoat you expose is up to the individual; there are no rules to follow in this respect, since it's all personal preference.  Keep in mind that the trick...  Keep in mind that the trick with any type of wet-sanding is to let the paper do the work; you don't need to apply a lot of pressure, so just make sure the paper is wet.  This is where I stopped, at...  This is where I stopped, at least on the cowl side. Personally, I think I overdid it a bit for my taste, but you get the picture.  This is what I ended up with...  This is what I ended up with at the beltline and the upper rear quarter. Like I said, there are no hard and fast rules; just go slow, check your progress often, and stop when you're satisfied with the look. If you want a couple more examples, check out Jeff Ayeroff's '39 Ford on page 38 of this issue. He faux patina'd a few areas, and I think it looks great.  The following are a few examples...  The following are a few examples of patina I've gathered over the years that might serve as a guide if and when you decide to play with patina. This fender was, at one point, sanded-or actually worn-right down to bare metal. This may not be quite as far as one would want to stretch the faux patina look, but it is an option.  This is one of the window...  This is one of the window garnish moldings from a pal's '57 Chevy I was prepping for paint in the recent past. I wasn't going for the patina look at that time but ended up with this look during its prep. Located on the bottom of the window, this is a pretty realistic look since that section of an early vehicle normally sees a lot of wear over the years.  Here's a great example of...  Here's a great example of a faux patina paintjob; in fact, it's a great example of a complete faux barn-find hot rod. This is a fresh hot rod, purpose-built to look as though it were a find from years ago. Beyond the patina'd paintjob, this build went as far as incorporating muriatic acid on the aluminum engine parts to replicate years of neglect, as well.
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