Paint or Patina?

[countr]

I do not know if I should paint to original or leave alone. this is my rust free 72 Cheyenne that is all original (and that includes all the mechanicals) nothing has been done to it.I have all the N.O.S. trim to put on. do I paint or do I leave alone? comments please Thanks

[jocko]

Budget? That matters. If it were me, I'd leave the body alone. Completely resto the interior (minus the interior paint unless really necessary somewhere), blast and paint the rear bumper, powder coat the wheels, and resto or replace the PO1s, freshen engine/trans, if required (or put an of trans in for more cruising fun), add the NOS trim you mention, and call it a day. Nice truck!

[countr]

Thanks, worried about how it would hold up over the next 10 years. eng./trans is good (driving now and all original) interior needs a few N.O.S. parts but otherwise almost perfect. Sorry for getting off track but the most important question is how will it hold up leaving it alone? I like the patina but worried about exposure to the environment. if I paint the outside the same code the interior including the engine compartment is almost perfect.This way I can leave the soap markings. I think painting it would preserve it longer? thanks

[harpo231]

You can matte clear it

[NC_John]

My paint/body guy put things in perspective for me when i asked him about clearing mine. "It took nearly fifty years for it to look like that. What are you scared is going to happen in the next five?"

[countr]

Thanks Harpo,in some areas there is no paint left and surface rust is starting will a matte clear stop any rust from getting worse?

[Mr Handy]

i would say if you are storing it in the barn, wax it and enjoy it. I am this evening stripping about 6 coats of paint off of the doors for my truck.

They are only origanal once.

[countr]

Thanks Guys, I am leaning towards preserving it the way it is and put the $4000 of N.O.S. parts that I bought for it on the patina. Does this make sense?

[Shinysideup]

Why expensive NOS parts on a patina driver??

[countr]

That is my dilemma? Do I make a show truck to look at or do I keep it original and drive it? all the trim needs replaced, and would the 72 crowd like to see a patina truck with all new trim or a freshly painted truck with all new trim?

[Grumpy old man]

Paint it , Those NOS parts deserve it . or just drive it the way it is until the wheels fall off . It's not "patina" it's rust .

[notsolo]

X2... New trim. New paint.

[Blue GMC]

Originally Posted by notsolo

X2... New trim. New paint.

X3

If your paint was faded more and not just a hood effect would say buff it and roll but the paint isn't gone far enough

[Rufas]

Originally Posted by Blue GMC

X3

If your paint was faded more and not just a hood effect would say buff it and roll but the paint isn't gone far enough

X4
Paint it! I know I'm in the minority, but I have never understood all the this gaga stuff about patina. It's just rust. Do you plan on keeping it? Then paint or just watch it rust away. For me there is nothing better than a pristine vehicle without rust.

I just got my Dad's 70 GMC back from paint today and have no regrets about painting it. My Dad purchased this new in 1970. It's been in the family 47 years. My son wants it so there is a chance it will be in the family another 40 or 50 years.

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[countr]

ok, doing a vote for a week. PAINT REPLY YES, LEAVE ALONE REPLY NO.

[Mike C]

If it were mine, I would go through brakes, seals, hoses, belts, etc. first. Then I would have the truck compounded. Washed and waxed I'd start driving it. Once I put say 25,000 more miles on it then ponder what to do next...

[drewbert41]

If you spent 4 grand on trim it sounds like you could swing a paint job.

The thing is all original though so I would probably CLR it and wax/buff the crap out of it. Paint bumper/wheels.

I am not a big fan of surface rust. If you use CLR it will still have some character minus the rust.

[JPsChevy]

I absolutely loved that truck when I got the core support from you. I think it'd be a a shame to paint it.

[jocko]

You haven't mentioned whether or not you like how it looks today. If you like, wax it and enjoy it. It will slowly rust where it's started, but, as far as I can tell from the pics, the body doesn't look that rusty (bumper does, etc). Perhaps some more close up shots will help us shed some more light. The "paint" it guys will probably still say paint it, but some of the "leave it" guys (myself included) reserve the right to change "our" minds after some close-ups!

[countr]

Jocko, I am keeping the truck for me to drive. I will post a few more close up pictures. thanks guys for all the input! still leaning towards leaving it alone and adding the N,O,S, trim. but going to wait a week on what every body else thinks. Thanks (THANKS FOR THE KIND WORDS JPSCHEVY)

[Sweeet67]

Paint it, drive and enjoy it. Put that trim on the fresh new paint job it deserves!

[Snake72]

Leave the paint. CLR, wizards cut and polish and wax. Fix anything that needs repair and drive it. If you change your mind in a year or two then paint it. I tested the wizards products on my original paint medium blue fender and it looked like new paint. You might be surprised how well it will clean up. Howdy from eastern Iowa!

[cooperhw]

Your truck, do what you like with it. Sounds like you would like to have the trim on it, put it on.
Or if you want a nice looking shiny pickup paint it, then put that new trim on.

I kinda dig the whole patina craze going on, not for me personally, but there are some that look awesome. Kinda flavor of the month as I see it.
Then there's some that just look like they got crappy old paint, and would look really nice with a paint job. It is true that once painted you will avoid taking it places that you would have if it was not painted. But, pulling into a car show,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
I just bought a 71 C20 a few weeks ago with paint that is not that great (2nd paint job) so I will sort out any bugs eventually and then paint it.
I like my classic cars/trucks to look nice. Just me.

[demian5]

Its only original once, ever...

[Chevyland]

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