Want wwway less shine, wwway more patina!

[randeb1974]

Re: Want wwway less shine, wwway more patina!

I hear you. It's hard to fabricate patina. It has to happen. You needed to buy this car before it was painted. Best look for another car.

[RaskyR1]

Re: Want wwway less shine, wwway more patina!

I actually think the wet sanding idea would work best. That way you can just have it polished back out when the time comes.


Final sanding was with 4000 grit...


Instead of this....



You can have this.

[floyd]

Re: Want wwway less shine, wwway more patina!

Thanks, Bill, you read my motivation and concerns exactly right. Onward!

[Bill Davidson]

Re: Want wwway less shine, wwway more patina!

If our goal is to have a shiny car, wouldn't it be helpful to know and discuss how to cause just the opposite in an effort to prevent it from happening?

Maintaining a vehicle isn't just about doing the right things, it's equally important not to do harmful things.

I think this is a great thread.

[Larry A]

Re: Want wwway less shine, wwway more patina!

When you ask a question like this on a detailing forum, you are asking people that like shinny cars , and want there cars to stand out. What kind of answer did you think you would get.

[TOGWT]

Re: Want wwway less shine, wwway more patina!

Guys: First off, I am totally serious. Look, the car is a blazing blue (think fire-engine red, only blue) and I'm not a blazing anything type of guy. I bought it for its mechanical and structural perfection (no rust on a mid-70s Porsche!!!), hoping the color would grow on me. It hasn't.

Most people reading my original post seemed to gloss over (ha ha!) words I used like "temporary" and "reversible." I don't want to repaint the thing. I don't want to destroy it or hurt it in the least. I just want to tone it down. At the same time, I want to take care of it to the best of my ability. It is a beautiful car. It's worth a lot of money. It's just too flashy. Can't anyone understand this?

Come on, someone, come to my defense! Or at least offer me some doable deflashifying options!

Thanks.

Have a company vinyl wrap the car in a matte finish

[floyd]

Re: Want wwway less shine, wwway more patina!

Bon-Ami? Great idea. I might try a test spot.

Chris: Do you have any examples?

thanks!

[Chris Thompson]

Re: Want wwway less shine, wwway more patina!

You could always have accents put on it. Either decals or airbrushed. It wont make your car more dull but if you were to accent with the right color, it may give the illusion that it is.

[BillyJack]

Re: Want wwway less shine, wwway more patina!

Well, I've been watching this thread for a few days. I've been contemplating a response for the OP's question, almost hating to post it because of making the members here cringe.
When I was a kid, I helped out my uncle in a body shop. After the repair work was done, we would give the entire car a quickie buff job so that the repaired areas didn't stand out from the rest of the car. This was back in the 60's, when paint would oxidize, deteriorate and fade after only a few years. We would scrub the unrepaired portion of the car with Bon-Ami cleanser as a paint cleaner. The procedure was to first wet down a panel, sprinkle on some Bon-Ami and scrub it around with a soft rag or clean sponge. It would leave a smooth, matte finish that was easily brought to a shine with a mild compound. If you're truly looking to dull down a shiny finish without sanding scratches, it might be worth a test spot.

Bill

[floyd]

Re: Want wwway less shine, wwway more patina!

well, one guy's trip to nowhere is another guy's trip to somewhere, which is what this was for me.

Meanwhile, Michael, I do appreciate you taking my question seriously because I meant it seriously. I really don't think I'd like fake patina any more than I like the inyerface shine, but at least the shine is real (well, at least as real as it get coming from a original-color respray). I guess in the end what I was hoping to find was a way to let it go, so to speak, let the car get kinda dirty kinda messy without doiing damange to the finish.

Ah, well, that's okay. It's a pretty car and my girlfriend loves it. things could be worse!

thanks again.

[STG]

Re: Want wwway less shine, wwway more patina!

I'm amazed that all of you guys allowed yourselves to be taken on a long, long trip to nowhere.

[Larry A]

Re: Want wwway less shine, wwway more patina!

You want patina, just find a automatic car wash that still uses plastic brushes. Wash your car their a few times and you will have your patina

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Want wwway less shine, wwway more patina!

thanks again, all. and i hope if nothing else i've helped open your eyes to the (possible) merits of ... patina!

We fully understand the merits of patina. There was that 1911 Oldsmobile that sold at the RM Hershey Auction a couple of years ago that was patina to the max. Original paint (what was left of it), original leather (worn, cracked, tired and beaten), original glass (cracked and split) and even the original tires hanging like rotting carcasses on the wooden wagon style wheels. It looked like a relic and essentially it was. But it was all there, and it was all original. It also brought $1.65 million!!!

Andy (bmrfan) mentioned Cars & Coffee here in Irvine. I had the great pleasure of speaking to a gentleman there a year or so ago who had driven his completely original and heavily patina'd 1934 Aston Martin to the event that particular morning. About the only thing that had been replaced on the vehicle were the tires and other wear items - you do need safe brakes if you're driving on public roads, after all! He has owned the Aston for almost 30 years and had toyed with the idea of restoring it to its former glory. But he was present at that RM Auction and watched that Olds cross the block. That's when he decided his Aston could only be truly original once - and he was going to keep it that way! And he was going to continue driving it. There was no shine to the paint any more, no smoothness to the leather. The engine bay was a bit dirty and greasy and the trim was dulled and scratched in places. But it was gorgeous. It was real. It was authentic. You could see the history in the car, you could smell it.

The "Preservation Class" at major concours shows is growing in popularity. There is something very special about those cars, even if they don't shine like a bright new penny. Or a new Ferrari.

But just as ardent admirers of preservation cars may not be huge fans of perfectly restored (or, heaven forbid, over restored) cars, something tells me they'd be even less a fan of "faked patina".

Floyd, you bought a car knowing exactly what it was - a beautifully restored example of one of the best loved sports cars in automotive history. Enjoy it for what it is. And if you pick up a little stone chip along the way, so be it. When that happens, the natural patina has begun, and you will have had a major hand in that. In years to come you'll look at those marks and remember when and where they happened, and look back on your history with your car with a fondness that you wouldn't have had looking back on someone else's patina (so to speak). Take care of it, but maybe don't stress over the paint like a lot of us do. Let it age gracefully.

[floyd]

Re: Want wwway less shine, wwway more patina!

Actually, the photo posted by bmrfan caused me to realize that if my car looked like that I would certainly be able to spend far less time and money on trying to keep it shiny and bright. No stress, no concerns. Maybe we're on to something here.

Uh oh, keep up that kind of talk and Mcguiars will go kaput!

I don't think I'll ever paint my P car. Though the paint isn't original, it is a respray in the original color, and to collectors and buyers that seems to make a difference. an alternate-color respray turns em off.

so, i'm just going to have to grin n bear it. my latest idea is to maybe funkify it up a bit by adding some kind of retro roof rack or maybe a rusty old-school Aloha surfboard rack, if i can find one of those for cheap (ha, not likely!).

thanks again, all. and i hope if nothing else i've helped open your eyes to the (possible) merits of ... patina!

[bmrfan]

Re: Want wwway less shine, wwway more patina!

Glad hear the picture of the patina'd 356 is useful.

Cars & Coffee in Irvine regularly has some well-done Rat Rods on display. Interesting to hear the owners talk about the amount of work needed to make the patina look real while also maintaining its long-term appearance.

SOT - I've noticed an emerging trend to satin & matte finishes on new cars. Satin finishes pose an interesting problem since the stuff we're used to doing to paint only makes it shinier.