Thread: Nostalgia looking paint job

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Maybe somebody has already tried this and can save
me some experimenting.

I have a '58 Chevy pickup with a newer paint job applied
by the former owner. It's a 20 footer type paint job-
looks decent from 20 feet away, but up close you can
see all the mistakes and the rough sanding marks
in the primer.

I'm building the truck as a driver and so not really interested
in show quality paint, but instead have an idea to
make the paint look old and faded. I hope this
will: 1) hide the fact that the paint job is not very good
and 2) since it's meant as a driver, make me less worried
about parking lot mishaps at the store, work, etc.

Also would like to put some logo for Smitty's Garage or
something like that on the doors and age them also.

My first idea would be to go over the whole truck with
600 grit with varying pressure to wear down the shine.
I don't want a uniformly dull finish- trying for a naturally
aged/old paint job appearance.

Has anybody done this and have any tricks?

Thanks

The November 2003 Street Rodder Magazine had an article on this. It should give you all the info you need. If you hurry you may still be able to get it on the stands. The December issue is already here, so the change over could happen at any time if it hasn't already. Failing that, there's always the public library, and their web site, if they haven't cleared it.