Survivor! Newbie post. RePaint or Patina (1 Viewer)

[JDS]

My first post!
My first FJ 40!
I dragged this 1981 out of a barn in Montana. Arizona sticker on back. It has great patina with only a few rust spots in the back corners which I plan to repair and ‘touch up’ myself.

I don’t see too many original paint 40’s with the finished ‘survivor type’ patina. (For obvious rusty reasons!)
Should I minimize the touch up and ‘wet sand and wax er up’?
Or professionally repair and repaint?
I plan on having fun with it, but I don’t want to make a mistake that I can’t take back.
JDS

 

[RstBckt]

New rear sill, inside door corner patches, match the existing paint and hit the repair parts only. The rest I would clean, wax, and leave it!!!

 

[Advrider639]

Yeah Id leave it. Market for clean unrestored cars is impressive right now.

 

[pb4ugo]

It looks like most of the paint should come back to a shine . I'd stay away from immediately wet sanding. You want to start with the least aggressive process 1st. Maybe try a less aggressive rubbing compound like Finessite, then maybe going to a more aggressive compound if needed b4 going to wet sanding. Start in a small area 1st. Once done, wax it. The patina thing is cool, but I prefer shiny original paint over faded ruff paint. Once the paint restoration is done it will be easier to do repairs and match the color.

 

[rkymtnflyfisher]

Your best bet is to bring it back to Montana and let me drive it down some forest service roads.

 

[FJBen]

Great looking 40. My guess is you got a killer deal if it didn't find its way to an online site.

Its only original once. Start with some less aggressive polish and you will be amazed how well that looks.

 

[asu4runner]

great looking cruiser. im amazed that there are still old cruisers in this kind of condition sitting around in barns and sheds.

 

[SipLife]

Nice 40. Definitely a good idea to preserve that Patina while keeping the rust at bay. Here is a helpful thread on Patina preservation:

Preserving Patina - How To Tips and Tricks

I keep retyping my “formula” for old Patina preservation so I decided to make a thread so I can just link my response to how I preserve my old Land Cruisers the way I do. For the last 3 years I have been learning how to preserve Land Cruisers in their original state. Protecting their original...

forum.ih8mud.com

 

[Tank5]

I vote for patina. You just cannot recreate that again.

 

[Living in the Past]

Your best bet is to bring it back to Montana and let me drive it down some forest service roads.

I vote send it back to Arizona. Have plenty of forest roads surrounding my home. Factory Air should be back in Arizona.

Does it have power steering?

 

[yotadude520]

WOW! Nice find man definitely a nice save!

I say fix the rust, paint to match and leave it as is. It's gone this long without a paint job, why put one on it now?

Plus if you keep the patina, you won't be afraid to drive it, once you paint it you will be!

 

[Living in the Past]

I agree once you do a complete frame off restoration best to sell it for as much as you can and move on. A lot to say for just looking nice and feel like you can use verses having it so nice you just leave parked in the garage and only drive it for coffee every once in a while. Even then parking where you can keep a eye on it.

 

[rghouse]

Not a fan of patina on cars, don’t quite get it I guess. Old is cool but faded and rusty is not IMO. Pickups maybe, not cruisers or sports cars. Quality paint jobs are expensive though, and a ton of work. If you take a 40 series apart to do it right there are about 2 dozen body parts, not including hinges. All it takes is one ding then it’s broken in, just like the first hole in your favorite shirt.

When you were looking for a cruiser which did you like better? Old and worn out looking or shiny and new?

Cutting, waxing, and polishing is also a ton of work, and will have to be done annually if it is out in the elements. Below is my 80, I got tired of upkeep on the old paint so I painted it. Also below is all the body parts after metal work and prime before painting the 40.

 

[cbmontgo]

You have a very rare, clean, original 40 and that rust is very minimal for a late model.

Buff the paint and leave the rust in the back. You will be glad you did.

 

[FJ404345]

Do like i ones did years ago, repaint etc it

You will feel great for years afterwards

 

[JDS]

Thanks for all the great posts! Very helpful.
I decided to do some very fine abrasive polishing to see what would come back. I was amazed. That paint must go down forever! I also got some Cruiser Corp - 464 Beige aerosol paint. It was a decent match!!
I have elected to go ‘the patina’ route for now. I do want the perfect ‘head turning’ car (so does my 16 yo daughter!), but I really appreciate the history of patina. And I hope people will look at ME that way!.
Since this forum is so helpful... another question:
I actually got two sets of factory wheels out of the barn with this truck...
I like the stock look. I just put the gray wheels on the truck. The white ‘trail’ wheels (had studded snow tires for now) look great also but which wheels were ‘stock’. Were the white wheels an upgrade? A factory package? Any way to find out which wheels came on the truck? VIN code maybe?
Thanks again for all the posts.
Will post more pics as I go.
PS. The original pics from last month were outside the Belgrade, Montana barn. PSS The FJ was stored OUTSIDE the barn NOT inside... go figure!

Barn!

door polish and paint test

barn

 

[77HesterSue]

White spokes would have been original. Lots of duplicate pictures yikes!

 

[JDS]

Wow! Sorry for the duplication of pics!!
Total newbie thought it automatically limited to five pics!
Will be more careful!!!
White spokes were stock? Really? I wonder where the gray wheels and hubs came into the picture?
Mystery... I’ll ask the old(er) guy that sold it to me.

 

[brian]

Patina is rust.
Rust needs removed....especially on the 79-83s with their paper thin sheet metal.