Paint or Patina? Which should I do? (1 Viewer)

Patina, or Paint


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Laytonville California
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Hi everyone. I am doing a body-off on my FJ40.
LS motor
FJ62 axles
Blast and paint frame
Power steering
All new electrical

I am going to a LOT of effort on this project, and I don't know if I want to just preserve the patina and rock the classic, weathered look, or do a full repaint.
I need help.
Regardless of choice, I will be blasting and coating the underside of the truck and the engine bay. I will also be coating the floor of the tub with something a bit more resistant to wear and tear.

The truck would be repainted in the FJ Company "French Blue"

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One comment. It’s only original once. Once you paint it you won’t want to wheel it. It’s got a great story on it. Leave it alone. Leave as is, do your mechanicals and use it. My son is doing exactly this. Did a LS/H55f/ 70 series rear axle. Body will stay patina. Saves you a tone of time and anxiety.

 
Personally, unless the body is so toast that you need to do a lot of patching, I would go patina.
 
Well it certainly doesn't look very original at the moment. Paint it. If you were doing a restoration then I would encourage you to repaint in original red but since you aren't then go with whatever color you want.
 
I rekon re spray it. If you were keeping it original then definitely leave it as is but if your changing everything else you might as well spray it.
I think it would look a bit strange and a bit half baked if you were to have a nice clean chassis, engine and interior but a ratty old body. It would look incomplete.
 
Ask yourself why you love the thing- is it because of the story that vehicle’s telling of 40-some years of life? Or is it more important that it look exactly like you want it to? If you want to see that story every time you look at the rig, patina. If you have a vision for how you want it to look, paint.
 
Patina is an Italian word for " Can't afford paint" :)


This is a joke. I am not a fan of patina myself, paint.
 
I rekon re spray it. If you were keeping it original then definitely leave it as is but if your changing everything else you might as well spray it.
I think it would look a bit strange and a bit half baked if you were to have a nice clean chassis, engine and interior but a ratty old body. It would look incomplete.
Maybe I’m biased since I just have painted mine, but I agree with this idea. If you’re going to redo some of it, then why stop there.

There’s some debate on Mud about putting a bedliner over steel and you might want to check it out. There is a fear that the rust will be more of an issue under the liner. The other concern is that it’s a bugger to remove for future repairs. just something to think about.
 
looks like you have the rust in the usual places along the bottom. In my experience, if you plan on blasting the underside etc your going to open a bunch of rust holes to the outside. I love the patina but it’s hard to mitigate the rust and maintain the look
 
What is your available $ for this. It will sure dictate what you do. This debate will go forever. Your choice. Ball is back in your court. Looking for some pics of your plan. Enjoy the journey. We forget to do that sometimes.
 
What is your available $ for this. It will sure dictate what you do. This debate will go forever. Your choice. Ball is back in your court. Looking for some pics of your plan. Enjoy the journey. We forget to do that sometimes.
Why not enjoy the best of both worlds: Do a complete rust removal and body prep, fresh paint (in the color of your choosing) over epoxy primer; then drive it, enjoy it , abuse it, for 50 years and wallah you will have a wonderful patina.
 
Patina is one thing rust is another. No pictures of the rear sill which is the most rust prone spot on the 40 series hard to say. But like been mentioned it going to be far from stock patina most look odd.
 
As long as you are tearing it down, consider a vinyl wrap depending on your future use of your truck. I like mine.
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Personally I enjoy the look of a patina rig still kickin it out on the trail. I feel like the original paint/patina shares the story and carries some of the soul of the life of the cruiser. If you want to keep that that part of your cruiser’s soul intact keep it as much patina as possible. If you want rewrite over your cruiser’s past by all means strip it and paint it. It will still be fun to drive either way. If you think after spending $$$ on a fresh paint job will prevent you from having fun with it, don’t do it.

Some cruisers have had their soul stripped by previous owners but yours has not. If like the patina keep it; It has taken 40 plus years to make it that way. At any point you change your mind you can paint it again but you can’t recreate patina like it is now.
 
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It seems like the FJ60 was the last great patina Land Cruiser. All the later Cruisers around here have peeling clear coat. I'd venture to say that most 4x4s on the road don't have the kind of construction to patina well. The primer and enamel of the '70s, and earlier, is not something that you see everyday.

I'd consider patching up any suspicious decay. And not trying to hide welds by grinding and bodyfiller. Then a CLR, or whatever, and Fluid Film anywhere steel meets steel, or where steel is exposed to the elements. Part of the patina is validation of integrity of the truck, so being careful not to hide the steel is important. That FJ Company truck could be a smorgasbord of different gauge steel, or even fiberglass, because I can't read it by looking at the truck.

If a uniform body look is desired, rattle can flat or primer over the existing enamel, which has been finished with steel wool or 1000-grit silicone carbide wet/dry paper. The original finish doesn't have to go; if you want it back, you can remove the spray paint with acetone without damaging much of what is under it. I think that the rattle can deserves credit because it gets you thru the cosmetics and on to the important stuff like the mechanical performance of your build.
 
My SMAW repair on a pair of swapped-in rear view mirror sheet metal screws.

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An original '64 FJ45 enamel was hiding under rattle can when I bought this. I try to minimize grinding.

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