Can "old" paint be done ?

chief roo · 12-20-09, 03:56 AM

Was talking to the last owner of my 57 and he raised a good point with me which got me thinking . My 57 has pretty much a mint body for it's age and if painted the condition of that body is partly "hidden" , the paint on it at present is I think original and presentable apart from the rear 1/4 panel which somebody started to rub back and the bonnet which is sun burnt to the point of no paint . By now you know my question which is can old paint be matched ?. As I've been out of cars for 20 years I openly admit to not being up to speed with what is possible with paint these days so wondering if a flattening agent can be mixed to the paint to make it as chalkie as the rest of the paint or what improvements are around to matching paint ?. Could it be painted then brushed to look old ?.
Thinking that it would be cool to roll with "original" paint and chrome the mechanicals done and the interior back to original .
Is this sort of thing done in the states ?.

Mr. HARDCORE · 12-20-09, 07:40 AM

I'm not sure how that would work. Don't know a way to give new paint an oxidized look, since most people are looking to do the oposite. You could flatten the paint a bit, and let the sun take over. Wouldn't take long where you are. lol! As for color matching, any color can be matched.

Thumpin455 · 12-20-09, 12:46 PM

The in thing for a while was building old looking rods, I hope they have gotten out of drilling rust holes in fiberglass roadsters. Sure you could match it, then weather it, but then you would only have what you have now, sans a bit of sun baked rust. Do you want it to look old or would you rather it looked better? I can understand the uniform look, I only started painting my cars in 2006. Well painting them with something other than rattle cans.

If that one were mine, I would pull the interior and clean up whatever is in good shape, recover the seats, replace or rebuild whatever it needs mechanically, and then probably do an inexpensive single stage paint job on it in the original color. You could leave it as is too, because is you mess with that spot on the quarter its going to be obvious. To me the car is begging to look nice again, but patina is earned. Maybe its time to try your hand at painting?

mrpontiac65 · 12-20-09, 02:06 PM

I remember in a magazine of a '63 I think SD Catalina that was restored (body was perfect but had been repainted and the original lettering on the car removed) and they painted it back to the way it was as new with lettering that looked like it was the original lettering that had survived over the years, little faded I can't remember what magazine it was in HPP,Pontiac Enthusiast, or in my Smoke Signals.

mrpontiac65 · 12-20-09, 02:57 PM

Just did some research and it was in HPP. and it was a '62 SD catalina that Don Gay drove. Here's some pictures after giving it the aged look.

FiredUp6975 · 12-21-09, 07:31 AM

If you're intending on doing it yourself, I'm really not sure what paint and additives, you'd need. If it were me wanting something like this I'd consult a body shop that specializes in antiques and classics, and see what they recommend. As mentioned any paint can be matched. They have the means to do that. I would think just not using a base coat clear coat might be what you're looking for. Not sure but this is what I'm thinking. Mike and I have done a few restos where we painted them ourselves I'll also ask him his opinion on this and have him reply. On another note, why not have the car buffed out and polished and see if it's luster is brought back, then everything would match perfectly when you have that panal painted. The car probably just needs a fresh buff and polish.

poncho1961 · 12-21-09, 11:00 AM

How about using only the base coat from a BC/CC system. There would be little or no shine and it might match fairly close. Spray it thin and maybe it will burn in quicker and possibly surface rust faster to match existing.

starchief1959 · 12-21-09, 11:35 AM

Didn't they just used to use a laquer type paint? Can you buy that anymore?

Mr. HARDCORE · 12-21-09, 01:39 PM

Yes you can, and it chips when the wind blows. LOL!

A basecoat would fade super fast, and probably not be on there long. It's not a paint that is designed to withstand the elements, since it's supposed to be topcoated. This is why those "hot rod flat blacks" are a specialized paint.

The Chief · 12-21-09, 01:57 PM

you can get a flat clear coat, thats what the hotrod guys use

Mr. HARDCORE · 12-21-09, 03:55 PM

You can flatten any paint. Problem is, it can't be protected very well with polish or waxes.

The Chief · 12-22-09, 02:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by A.X.

You can flatten any paint. Problem is, it can't be protected very well with polish or waxes.

no, not flatten you can actually get a flat/matt clearcoat

poncho1961 · 12-22-09, 01:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by A.X.

Yes you can, and it chips when the wind blows. LOL!

A basecoat would fade super fast, and probably not be on there long. It's not a paint that is designed to withstand the elements, since it's supposed to be topcoated. This is why those "hot rod flat blacks" are a specialized paint.

Thats why I recommended it. He wanted a paint or additive that would produce a chalky finish to match the old. I figured the base coat would deteriorate faster without the clear and maybe give him close to the results he has on a paint job that took 50 years to get to that point.

Mr. HARDCORE · 12-22-09, 03:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Chief

no, not flatten you can actually get a flat/matt clearcoat

Yeah, and they flatten it with the flattening agent. It just doesn't flatten itself. LOL!

poncho1961 · 12-23-09, 06:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by A.X.

Yeah, and they flatten it with the flattening agent. It just doesn't flatten itself. LOL!

They can send a man to the moon but they can't make a clear that will flatten itself.

LOL

Mr. HARDCORE · 12-23-09, 12:35 PM

Most basecoats will have a rough finish. It will not be smooth. so base coats are probably not what you're going to use to make paint look old. A laquer paint that has not been polished will look old. Problem is, it chips and scratches too easy. Best bet would be to slightly flatten some Acrylic Enamel. Doing a flattened clear will not match the existing paint, because it wasn't a 2-stage. But if I was going to do anything, I'd just paint the thing proper, and be done with it. Too much work trying to get paint to look old, so you might as well just paint the whole damn thing and be done with it.

chief roo · 12-23-09, 01:00 PM

Thanks for the response here everyone appreciate the input by all ,plenty of food for thought will let youse know what happens.