Bare Metal Look

[Mains52]

What do you guys think. I have really been liking the bare metal cleared look lately. I think it definitely saves me a lot of time as far as getting my truck on the road. I have bed mounts to make and a rear swap to do and I am ready for finish welding my s10 swap. I am moving to a family farm within a year or two so Id really like to have my truck drivable before then.

[CountofMonteCarlo84]

I like the look, but am not really informed on the pros and cons.

[MARTINSR]

I get it like I get this.




Brian

[Dan in Pasadena]

^^^WTF^^^ is wrong with people? They don't need a job? They WANT to be stared at, thought of as a freak? Scare children? Sheesh.

We all get ONE LIFE and they choose to live it like this^^^. I am usually very open minded. I don't care what people do as long as they don't hurt others but I just can't get my head around this kind of stuff at all.

As to the bare metal look - well, if YOU like it! Lol. But seriously it'll require more of maintenance than if you just rattle can it in Rustoleum - which I what I did to mine while I was initially working on it.

[Chris(NJ)]

I like it. I like it even more on applications where you'd see top quality welds that'd otherwise be painted over.

[dsraven]

my opinion, and this means zip, is that when you spend all that time getting it to fit etc why not finish it with a nice smooth paint job? I am old school though and, when I was a young guy trying to get the car and make it fast, I concentrated on getting the underside right. the body was coming along for the ride the way it was. that was when I only had enough cash to do one or the other. I sure did want it to look like a show car, I just didn't have the money. nowadays, I do things slow enough so I could probably fund my project by picking bottles along the highway, haha.
I get it when guys primer their ride and drive it like that for a bit after a major rebuild or a frame swap. it is to ensure they covered all their bases and there won't be any mods to do after a fresh paint job. eventually they paint if that's what they want. I just don't get the flat paint thing though. a nice expensive car or truck that is perfectly straight but covered in flat black or green has absolutely no appeal to me. but, I don't own the vehicle either. that's what hotrodding is about. guys do what THEY like, not what everybody else likes. the other day I seen (2) cadillac escalades at a dealer, one was flat green and the other had some flat color changing paint on it. both with huge chrome rims and verrrry low profile tires. they had the stock stance otherwise. even my wife commented on how goofy it looked. the color changing paint looked cool but out of place.
at the end of the day it is your truck and your money. if you like it in the naked look then do it that way and be proud to drive it. just have an answer when you get asked when you will finish it or what color you will paint it, lol.

[mr48chev]

Bare metal is cool when you pull your perfectly metalworked ride out to take to an event to show off the metalwork before rolling it into the paint shop to have a just as great paint job laid on it. On the other hand showing up year after year with bare metal on the same rig with no improvements to the metalwork and comparing what to use to keep it from rusting is just lame and as mentioned above a big cry for attention. To me that puts you in the same league as those guys who rump around a good guys event with their blown open header alcohol burning ride every hour on the hour to make sure that everyone knows you are there with the baddest ride on the grounds even though it hasn't had license plates on it for ten years and won't pass tech at the drag strip.

[MARTINSR]

Originally Posted by mr48chev

Bare metal is cool when you pull your perfectly metalworked ride out to take to an event to show off the metalwork before rolling it into the paint shop to have a just as great paint job laid on it. On the other hand showing up year after year with bare metal on the same rig with no improvements to the metalwork and comparing what to use to keep it from rusting is just lame and as mentioned above a big cry for attention. To me that puts you in the same league as those guys who rump around a good guys event with their blown open header alcohol burning ride every hour on the hour to make sure that everyone knows you are there with the baddest ride on the grounds even though it hasn't had license plates on it for ten years and won't pass tech at the drag strip.

Yep, the greats like Ron Covell would do that once in a while.

Brian

[MARTINSR]

Originally Posted by Dan in Pasadena

^^^WTF^^^ is wrong with people? They don't need a job? They WANT to be stared at, thought of as a freak? Scare children? Sheesh.

We all get ONE LIFE and they choose to live it like this^^^. I am usually very open minded. I don't care what people do as long as they don't hurt others but I just can't get my head around this kind of stuff at all.

As to the bare metal look - well, if YOU like it! Lol. But seriously it'll require more of maintenance than if you just rattle can it in Rustoleum - which I what I did to mine while I was initially working on it.

I'll never forget when my son (now 35, then 18) asked me what I thought about him getting a tattoo and I said I believe one of the most profound things I ever said to one of my kids.

"We change in life, our likes and passions change, I am just glad I didn't get those cuffed bellbottoms I loved so much in 1976 tattooed on."

He looked at me with a perfectly straight face and said "I understand" and never got a tattoo.

Now mind you, some tattoos are so meaningful of course, they can be neat as heck. If I had a nice photo of the one my dad got in WWII with "MOM" on it I would seriously think about getting it. But SOOOOOOO many are a joke that mean nothing a week after getting it.

Brian

[mr48chev]

We had an even in the Pacific Northwest called the Unfinished Nationals that was put on by Customs Northwest. For a number of years it was held at the fairgrounds at Graham Wa and then at the fairgrounds at Elbe. That was in the 90's for me and one of the nifty things was to see guys bring out their in the bare metal projects for the rest of the folks to check out and see their progress. That was the first time I saw a bare metal car anywhere but usually the next year you saw it in primer with most of the work done and the next year it showed up as a finished custom with paint and interior all done.
To me that is what the bare metal thing is about. Bring out your project, show the folks what you did and take it back and either take it to the next level or finish it completely.

[MARTINSR]

Originally Posted by mr48chev

We had an even in the Pacific Northwest called the Unfinished Nationals that was put on by Customs Northwest. For a number of years it was held at the fairgrounds at Graham Wa and then at the fairgrounds at Elbe. That was in the 90's for me and one of the nifty things was to see guys bring out their in the bare metal projects for the rest of the folks to check out and see their progress. That was the first time I saw a bare metal car anywhere but usually the next year you saw it in primer with most of the work done and the next year it showed up as a finished custom with paint and interior all done.
To me that is what the bare metal thing is about. Bring out your project, show the folks what you did and take it back and either take it to the next level or finish it completely.

That sounds like an AWESOME event! I would like to make it to that for sure!


Brian

[whitedog76]

I would rather see a rusty truck

[dsraven]

hey Brian, do you think I could get a tattoo of a handsome guy put on my face? lol. might be worth it.

[MARTINSR]

Originally Posted by dsraven

hey Brian, do you think I could get a tattoo of a handsome guy put on my face? lol. might be worth it.

Speaking of that, check out the nut job with the tattoo I posted, he is a damn good looking guy! Well......he was.

Brian

[Mains52]

Thank You Baby Boomers for turning this into a tattoo thread!
In all honesty I think the bare metal look is cool. You get to see all of the bumps and bruises the truck has been through over the years without some guy throwing the 2 inch thick bondo on like I have seen at some shows. Its different strokes for different folks. My plan bare metal exterior with a nice interior and drive train. Also making the frame nice as well. I knew there would be supporters and non supporters so thank you all for your opinions.

[MARTINSR]

You're welcome.

Brian

[my56chevytruck]

I don't have as much to say, but I'd say bare metal is fine, depending upon the location you live, we have a lot of humidity and that as you know is moisture, and that causes rust, now, if you clear coat it, then even better. I've got both the expensive paint jobs and a flat grey single coat urethane, so I'd say in conclusion you're look is great as it is.
P.S. get that tatoo but on your back side, lol

[gigamanx]

I think there are times it makes sense. I remember seeing the Boyd Coddington aluminum job that wasn't painted. Cool as hell, but I think they said it was left that way to show how meticulous the metalwork was.

[Mains52]

My plan is to clear coat it and not use oils and what not.

[bobinbc]

I see a lot of people doing this but I wonder how it lasts. I've seen a lot of clear that was applied over base paint that lifts and peels, I'd think it would have a tough time with durability over bare metal with no primer.

If I was going to do it I'd add flattener to the paint to get a satin look instead of gloss. Just my 2cents

[b-mac]

That one OP has a picture of sold for like $30K on ebay, and it's not even that nice. Just sayin.

[joedoh]

every time I see a "what do you guys think" question asked I cringe, because the opinionated wieners see their opportunity to give you what you ask for and the non partisans check in to hear themselves talk.

not saying either of those groups exist on this forum, but I have seen this behavior before on message boards.

it comes down to: do what you like. if you want purple interior and steer horns on the hood then to hell with whatever anyone else thinks. you would have to be pretty weak of constitution to ask strangers for opinions then ACTUALLY follow their advice

do what you like. if you want bare metal because it looks cool then do it. if you want bare metal because one sold for 30k then do it. if you want bare metal because you have never had it then do it. if you want bare metal because you want to talk about it non stop ar show and shines then do it. if you want bare metal for 1000 different reasons, then do it. no one here is writing any checks to finish your truck, no one will beg for a refund if they dont like it, and no one has to like it but you.

[dsraven]

^^^that's the point I was trying to get across, it's your unit so do what you want. it's hotrodding. different strokes for different folks. if I posted a few pics of my project I would prolly get LOTS of different views of how it should look in the end.

[Mains52]

^^^
^^^
Thanks Joedoh. Sometimes I ask myself why I ask these questions. When I know its going to be the same 50/50 answers every time. my cab is mostly white and my bed is all white but my hood is bare and my doors and fenders are primer so I am thinking there may be a hint of white in some places. I'll update my build thread when I start doing body work.

[MARTINSR]

Originally Posted by joedoh

every time I see a "what do you guys think" question asked I cringe, because the opinionated wieners see their opportunity to give you what you ask for and the non partisans check in to hear themselves talk.

not saying either of those groups exist on this forum, but I have seen this behavior before on message boards.

it comes down to: do what you like. if you want purple interior and steer horns on the hood then to hell with whatever anyone else thinks. you would have to be pretty weak of constitution to ask strangers for opinions then ACTUALLY follow their advice

do what you like. if you want bare metal because it looks cool then do it. if you want bare metal because one sold for 30k then do it. if you want bare metal because you have never had it then do it. if you want bare metal because you want to talk about it non stop ar show and shines then do it. if you want bare metal for 1000 different reasons, then do it. no one here is writing any checks to finish your truck, no one will beg for a refund if they dont like it, and no one has to like it but you.

Advice was asked, and advice has been given. There are three different people who ask advice:

1. Those who will follow advice because they don't have a clue.

2. Those that will follow the advice doing what they would have anyway and ignore all others advice because it's not what they want to hear.

3. Those who listen to advice from others and make a decision using all that advice and their opinions to come up with what is best for them.

I have posted threads asking for advice on my build. I have gotten advice way, way out of the box that I would NEVER do. But I have also gotten advice way way out of the box that was perfect and I had just never gone there and have and will use.

If we aren't asking advice to hear everything others have to offer than we are in the number 1 or 2 that I listed.

Brian