How can I naturally oxidize or age auto paint?

[theimagedoctor]

Yep - you read it right - I want to intentionally oxidize / dull / age the factory paint on my truck.

But why you ask? Great question...

I'm going for the rat-rod look of a vintage speed shop parts delivery truck, but on a relatively new vehicle. I have absolutely no idea how well it will turn out or if it will be a total disaster. But, nothing ventured, nothing gained. And hey...the truck is paid off anyway.

I'm ordering a mild drop kit, already have chrome ralleys, and hope to have cheap-o long tube headers, mufflers and dumps on by mid summer. I'm also creating my own "speed shop" logo for the doors and tailgate, and will round out some other areas with parts stickers and stuff like that.

But back to the paint question...

Imagine if you will an old truck...been sitting in the field for years...sun and rain have taken their toll on the upper surfaces: hood, roof, step side fenders, etc. On these areas, the paint has oxidized and faded. On less exposed areas the paint is still dulled back, but in generally better condition. This is what I want to create on my 94 stepside.

Even now, as I'm writing this post, I feel like this will really be as much artistic endeavor as it will be a mechanical process. Sort of like a faux finish painting, but instead of trying to paint marble or wood effects, I'm trying to create the natural look of an aged vehicle paint job.

How could I duplicate this appearance without waiting 20 years? Chemicals? Soda blasting? Sanding? Other thoughts? Has anyone seen this done before?

Thank you.

[Brody57]

You could sand the clearcoat off and maybe not sand so much that you mess the paint up and then you could use a more of a flat clear coat they use on matte black to create that look. Im not sure if that would totally work though

[DMANbluesfreak]

Yep - you read it right - I want to intentionally oxidize / dull / age the factory paint on my truck.

But why you ask? Great question...

I'm going for the rat-rod look of a vintage speed shop parts delivery truck, but on a relatively new vehicle. I have absolutely no idea how well it will turn out or if it will be a total disaster. But, nothing ventured, nothing gained. And hey...the truck is paid off anyway.

I'm ordering a mild drop kit, already have chrome ralleys, and hope to have cheap-o long tube headers, mufflers and dumps on by mid summer. I'm also creating my own "speed shop" logo for the doors and tailgate, and will round out some other areas with parts stickers and stuff like that.

But back to the paint question...

Imagine if you will an old truck...been sitting in the field for years...sun and rain have taken their toll on the upper surfaces: hood, roof, step side fenders, etc. On these areas, the paint has oxidized and faded. On less exposed areas the paint is still dulled back, but in generally better condition. This is what I want to create on my 94 stepside.

Even now, as I'm writing this post, I feel like this will really be as much artistic endeavor as it will be a mechanical process. Sort of like a faux finish painting, but instead of trying to paint marble or wood effects, I'm trying to create the natural look of an aged vehicle paint job.

How could I duplicate this appearance without waiting 20 years? Chemicals? Soda blasting? Sanding? Other thoughts? Has anyone seen this done before?

Thank you.

It will be a very difficult process to replicate perfectly. You'll have to grind the paint off where you want the rust to be, throw some salt/water solution on it and leave it to weather. It won't take long to do once you get the paint off. You may want to try and browse some classic car customization/ratrod forums to see how they do it.

[94SierraZ71]

There was a TRUCKS episode that came on spike they did that to a 50s model chevy. you may can go on powerblocks website and see how they did it or watch the episode.

[RPMbagged97]

we have a guy that comes to our shop and does this to some vehicles we build. He starts by wetsanding down the clear to make it flat. Then he uses rattle cans of different colors along with dry paint brushes, paper towels, etc.. to get the effect he wants.

All of the paint on this buick as shiny along with the freshly chromed bumpers and trim.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v423/birdie1218/Lees%20stuff/57wagon.jpg

[Andrew.]

There was a guy with an bagged ex-cab stepside who had small touches of rust airbrushed onto the box/cab.

Everybody loved it because obv stepsides cant rust...no metal TO rust. Looked awesome IMO.

...You could also attempt to re-create the rusty hood trend going on with the imports/VW guys. They scuff the piss outta their hood, spray it with acetone. Let it sit for a couple days, wash it then clear coat its you get this look.

http://img179.imageshack.us/img179/4011/dsc08414xc6.jpg

Now, you say your going for rat rod look? What else besides purposely rusting your truck/what you have mentioned are you going to do? Chop top? Rag? Gut the interior?

If your serious, serious about making it into a rat rod, take a look at welderup.com, those guys have honestly perfected the "ratrod" look. Maybe even give them a call see if they can help you out/give you pointers..

Heres some of their work.
http://blogs.cars.com/.a/6a00d83451b3c669e20120a66cdd5b970b-800wi
http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSsBQ8e_MbCwSV5ERZ72js_FwtXbW3Yn 51yNNKMnO8Rp21uKrWDlw&t=1
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4003/4484467523_987dd52bec.jpg
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4133/5086765054_1a46a6f424.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y179/fyreline/DuelTruck2.png

and a blog with a ton of their pictures.
http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2009/11/welder-up-rat-rod-race-car-and-its.html

[theimagedoctor]

Wow - thank you SO much for the feedback. I'll take time to go through all the sites referenced and see what else I can "pickup" !!! Ha!!!

Best wishes for a GREAT weekend to you all !!!

[theimagedoctor]

Okay - following the links above, and some additional google'n, I've found quite a bit of info on relic paint jobs (or hot rod patina or whatever flavor you like.)

Here are a couple that are getting close but not quite what I have in mind. The full-size is still too new looking (but it is a 1100hp twin turbo :gone2far:...the mazda is getting there but just doesn't look "natural" enough to me...the aged paint on the last photo (old truck) is basically what I want to replicate on my '94.

The inspiration and vision are building up! :-)

http://www.theimagedoctor.net/downloads/banks-new-old.jpg
http://www.theimagedoctor.net/downloads/mazda-new-old.jpg
http://www.theimagedoctor.net/downloads/old-truck.jpg

[UNTsilverado50]

instead of creating actual rust, which will screw you in the long run, what about creating a faux rust by using various painting techniques? You can use a rust color primer, paint over it, then sand away the top color to let the rust-colored primer show through. Making it look like its rusted without actually reducing the quality of body.

Check out this link
http://www.killbillet.com/showthread.php?t=19209

It has some tips on painting like this, and some pics.

[theimagedoctor]

instead of creating actual rust, which will screw you in the long run, what about creating a faux rust by using various painting techniques?

Yes sir - that's the direction I'm heading. Thinking back in life, I worked at a sign shop years ago and we would "age" signs by painting a base coat of copper paint then spraying on a something that reacted w/ the copper to create a green patina. I wonder if there is an iron based paint that would achieve a similar effect but with reddish rust patina instead of the green copper patina.

The more tuts and videos I see, the more i realize this is going to be a pretty involved process...to get it looking really RIGHT. But the flip side is I will have a custom paint job (well...let's call it a "unique" paint job) for practically nothing...at least when compared to a "real" paint job.

[RPMbagged97]

the worst part is trying to make it look natural.

This is natural petina, but we did all the suspension on it at work
http://www.rpm-hotrods.com/images/stories/builds/64c10/593485349_8uk8g-l.jpg
http://www.rpm-hotrods.com/images/stories/builds/64c10/lau.jpg

[88gmc1500]

the worst part is trying to make it look natural.

This is natural petina, but we did all the suspension on it at work
http://www.rpm-hotrods.com/images/stories/builds/64c10/593485349_8uk8g-l.jpg
http://www.rpm-hotrods.com/images/stories/builds/64c10/lau.jpg

Pics of an old slammed truck reminded me of this lol.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Ir1-NTajj4&feature=player_detailpage