In reply to bigfranks84 :
I'll find out, I guess. In the next few weeks probably. Like others have said, I have a clean title so there shouldn't be issues as if I had no title at all. And if there is an issue, Oregon has a pretty easy process for "remanufactured vehicles." I have the clean title for the Miata too and all they need is proof that I didn't steel it. That's there priority. I would have to get it smog inspected but I wouldn't mind to be honest. I'm a tree hugger so I'm probably going to add a catalytic converter regardless (or convert it to electric but tht's another story).
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You guys want to talk some sense into me? I'm thinking about doing a color change. Actually, I've always planned on it. One of the reasons I wanted a classic VW is because I wanted to paint it "seafoam green" like my old Fender guitar. Always wanted an old car that color. Like this shot bellow of a Birch Green L511 notchback. This is actually an oem color for my '67 squareback. PERFECT color.
Well I'm getting started on the interior and if I'm going to do a color change, I need to do it now.
Here's a VERY crude photoshop of what that could look like with three different color combos. The red color it is now, the green I want, and murdered out.
IMO the green accent interior looks best. I have the off-white windshield visors already but those can always be painted black. Followed by the all black murdered out pic. Damn me and my aversion to red! I get it from my dad I guess.
And then last night, after a few (several) cocktails, I saw a youtube video of a guy using rustoleum spraypaint on a car, followed by those 2K clear cans from Eastwood and elsewhere. Looked pretty easy and cheap. I've actually painted an entire truck with brush-on Rustoleum by thinning it and using a foam roller brush and a lot of wet sanding, and it looked awesome!! However, after two years it had faded. But that was without a clearcoat.
Point is: that sounds like my style. So I looked up some rustoleum spray paint colors. Guess the berkeley what?! There's a seemingly perfect match between Birch Green L511 and Rustoleum "Moss Green" - I say seemingly because I'm comparing HTML color hex values between paintref.com and homedepot website. All I can say is they look identical, online at least.
So I went to my local hardware store and picked up a can!
That's the "moss green" Rustoleum on a bit of cardboard, and next to is my seafoam green guitar. I painted the guitar myself and used paint from www.reranch.com - they custom make the paints to match classic Fender guitar colors which, in turn, were made to match 50s Fords and GMs. The type of paint from reranch.com is nitrocellulous lacquor and it took a month to dry. Probably did like 5 or 6 coats. And as you can imagine it's not cheap (or legal in California).
The Seafoam Green on the guitar was originally seen on a 56 Buick.
Good lord is that a bright color for a car. Probably a little too much for the frankenwagen.
So the rustoleum Moss Green isn't initially the color I thought it would be, but the more I think about it the more I can totally see it being an awesome color. Better than red. Maybe I should paint up a larger panel before I decide. But, again, I need to decide before I continue with the interior. I would want to paint the interior metal before stretching the vinyl fabric over the dashboard (oh yeah, forgot to mention, I bought some vinyl fabric to stretch over the dashboard and up to the windshield).
What about all the dents and rust and bangs and twisted panels on the ol' frankenwagon. She's an abused old girl, sadly. It will take a tremendous amount of work and bondo to get it nice a straight. The rust will need to be repaired regardless. And what about the pinstripes? You know, I love my friend Johnny who did them and I respect them and I like the design, but they're not really doing it for me and this car. I wish it weren't true but it is. Maybe it's the yellow color - reminds me of McDonalds. And clowns. (My brilliant wife just pointed out to me that I could mask the pinstripes before painting over them).
So I'm expecting many folks to say, dude you cannot paint over that patina. And I understand that argument - I like patina cars and this is a legit patina! Not a fake or anything. Has loads of character.
But... what about a patina color change?? Yeah, some of you are going to need to try and not barf. But here's a very crude mockup of what that could look like:
I wish I could do that in real life - magically apply something that changes the hue of the paint.
It's poor photoshoping to be honest. But it definitely can look good in my opinion. Better than a normal shiny paint job? No, of course not. But, pretty cool. If it's not too fake looking.
Wife: "I don't know why boys like that patina thing"
So that's where I'm at today. Will probably think about it over the 4th of July weekend. I guess it all depends on whether or not I'm going to sell this car. If I'm selling it then the obvious and easy answer is to leave the red patina. If it's for me, then I'm going to paint it the color I've always wanted. But that's what I said about my old Chevy truck and my Jeep XJ, and they're both gone. But I still have my motorcycle at least.
What do you think?