Next we examine the edges, which is where resprayed paint, if it’s present, typically starts to peel. Even the best tape jobs can allow a little paint to get on the trim in some spots. Here’s our inspection process:įirst we look around the trim for evidence of resprays. A trained eye can typically pick out resprays or blends very quickly. Sure, we think there are still plenty of cars out there with quite a lot of original paint, but most of the ones we see in the motorsports world had some work done early in their lives-even at the dealer if they were damaged in transit.
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The owners aren’t necessarily lying many just don’t know how to tell, and they took someone’s word for it. Unfortunately, many of them don’t have original paint-or, at least, not all of it is original. It’s getting more common for cars, whether they’re on display at shows or offered for sale, to boast original paint. Let’s discuss some ways to evaluate a car’s condition and spot the telltale signs that something isn’t a true, time-worn classic. People seem to be increasingly overrepresenting-or even entirely misrepresenting-the originality and patina of their cars. Maybe it has just the right balance of dullness and wear, like a broken-in pair of sneakers or a favorite T-shirt. Maybe it reminds you of something you owned-or drove past-years ago. Sometimes a car, despite ordinary origins and subpar workmanship, just looks cool with a bit of patina. We could almost perform a cost/benefit analysis on most scenarios: Give us a car’s model, condition and provenance, and we could likely tell you if it’s worth preserving the patina or not.īut patina is about more than just cost versus benefit-there’s a subjective side, too. So far, we’ve been fairly objective about this topic. Wouldn’t a fresh repaint make more sense? After all, the car is neither original nor is the history of its paint important. We’re further amazed that someone would go through any effort to preserve such a finish. It’s just an old paint job that needs to be forgotten. On the other hand, if the car received a bad respray in the 1970s and the paint is faded and flaking, we’re hard pressed to consider that patina. Perhaps a better approach would be to maintain the patina with a few touch-ups and some elbow grease.
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If an average Joe in the car’s past performed careful, high-quality work, and portions of the paint have rubbed through or some trim has lost its gloss, the time and cost associated with a full restoration would be significant. Was it painted by the likes of Dean Jeffries or Junior Conway? Striped by Von Dutch? Preserve what’s left.Ī car’s finish doesn’t need a famous name attached to earn the title of patina. The same applies if the car still sports remnants of its period racing livery or the handiwork of an icon. For example, if the car has its original paint, maintaining the factory history is a worthy cause-after all, a car is only original once. If a car has significant provenance and the patina reflects it, we feel it’s appropriate to maintain that finish. We’re prepared for letters and emails from your own soapboxes, whether you agree or disagree with us.įirst off, we think patina and provenance go hand in hand. In fact, patina has gotten so mainstream that people have starting going to great lengths to fake it, giving rise to what many consider the faux pas of faux patina.īefore we get technical and discuss how to maintain and stabilize a car’s patina-and yes, even how to fake it-it’s time we stepped on a soapbox. As it has moved into the spotlight, however, its value and application have been diminished when used in the wrong context. For many years, serious custodians of classic cars have quietly respected this special type of wear. Whatever the case, we feel there are philosophical and perhaps even ethical implications that should be considered when dealing with patina.
Is it recognition that cars are driving machines-not sculptures on rolling pedestals-and should rightly sport some wear and a few road rashes? Is it an indicator that car collecting has “grown up” to become an established and respected hobby, like collecting fine art or furniture, in which original pieces garner more value than restored ones? Is this obsession a subtle backlash to the over-restorations many cars have received in recent years? Soon after these explanations are offered, our questions start pouring out in response. The value is in the patina, they say, or in the provenance that it symbolizes. Worn examples of automobiles are occasionally achieving higher prices than their restored counterparts-ones in significantly better condition. To be honest, we can’t quite figure out the classic car world’s recent fascination with patina.
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