Just read that somewhere and I'm wondering just what is the cool finish on cars and trucks these days. Flat colors -especially black- seems to be old/out too. Are we heading back to candies or something "old-timey" ?
Just curious as to what will show the best at The Challenge...
I'm a fan of patina unless it is fake, then it seems stupid and poser-ry. No idea on what the challenge judges may think however, so I can't help you there.
Woodies?
Grand Wagoneer coming back in 2018.
IMHO it wasn't cool to begin with.
I'll keep the 70+ years of history
It can be cool on old trucks if it's natural and has the look. but I've seen far to many destroyed f100's on craigslist lately listed for 7k because "patina" and "rat rod"
Grtechguy wrote: I'll keep the 70+ years of history
The dents would drive me nuts though...and the modern rims.
In reply to Grtechguy:
Yeah, I remember when they came out with the clear coated aluminum alloys in the 40s. So retro...
Those might not stay, the OE splits didn't hold air and no-one will touch them.
Patina is fine on brass. What people call patina on cars is rust and neglect. To me, it seems lazy and looks ugly. Intentional fake patina is as silly as -20 deg of camber "stance" idiocy.
Not a fan at all.
The only thing that will impress the Challenge judges is something that has not been done before.
That's why themes are popular.
Patina (including old logos), flat paint, chalkboard paint, shiny paint, candy paint, matte finishes, color-shifting paint, tractor paint, vinyl, carbon fiber, gel coat, contact paper, and lace shower curtains have all been done.
Be creative. That would exclude asking everyone else what is "cool". 
I like natural occuring patina to a point, i also like flat colors though. Sunfade/exsposed primer i can handle, rust bad enough to cause holes makes me want to fix it. Side effect of living in the rust belt i guess.
I'm sure hoping the 'patina' thing goes away. It's one thing to have a little wear and tear, but the flat black / rusted to heck look doesn't do anything for me at all.
Judging by the modern aluminum wheels on the truck in the picture above it's already not original, so why keep the rust and dents.
In reply to SVreX:
I beg to differ. The top finishers in the contours are ones that show off their workmanship. Andrew didn't win the last two years because he was fast in the drags. He won because his attention to detail in the build was outstanding and reflected in his score. IMHO a "cool" theme can get you above average score but not a top score.
In reply to Stampie:
As a top finisher in the Concours, I beg to differ again.
I was told directly by a judge they would have given me a higher score if they could have.
I didn't say anything about a theme or a finish being the ticket to a good Concours finish. My car had both a theme, and good workmanship.
I said something different would catch the judges' eye, and sometimes that's a theme. That's all.
I don't like the term "patina" when it applies to cars. I prefer the term "survivor look".
If the survivor look is earned and conveys something about the history of the car and how it came to be where it is, then I am all for it. If it is contrived, then it's just a bimbo with too much makeup.
It's 100% dependent on the car or truck in question.
Faded paint and surface rust (patina) on a 2005 Yukon Denali is just ugly.
That same look on a 1972 F-100, different story.
It's my contention that anything that qualifies as "aging" done on purpose is dumb.
My XJ had scrapes and dents from rocks and trees and mismatched fenders as a result. Every scrape and dent was there despite every attempt I made to keep it as clean as you can on trails through the woods etc. All of it gotten honestly.
Reminds me of the guy I know who took an angle grinder to his steel-toe boots and the knees on his jeans to make them look broken in.
Just silly.
Huckleberry wrote: Patina is fine on brass. What people call patina on cars is rust and neglect. To me, it seems lazy and looks ugly. Intentional fake patina is as silly as -20 deg of camber "stance" idiocy. Not a fan at all.
So much this. So you have corrosion on your car and you want to keep it?.... Maybe it's the whole worked in aviation part of me but corrosion = bad. There's no in between.
Brass and copper "patina" is fine in pens and razors. Rusty steel drives me up a wall.
In reply to The0retical: I feel the same. Must be the aviation background in us. Rust is corrosion and corrosion is bad. Fix it. Stop it from spreading. Do something about it.
In reply to Grtechguy:
I wonder what those wheels would look like on your truck after the wheel face is media blasted (sand? beads?) and painted, say, semi-gloss black.
In reply to ebonyandivory:
Did he buy those $400+ pre muddied jeans from Nordstrom too?
I'm still trying to wrap my head around the stance bro douche nozzles rusting parts of their cars intentionally "for the look". Because a 2013 anything obviously has 200k miles of surface rust on just one fender.
I like patterned coverings for panels just as much as single color paint. Rust (especially surface rust on a mostly flat panel) can make some really cool natural patterns and fractals that I think give a neat interesting look. And I happen to think that mother nature does a pretty good job at many design elements 
But then again, I am the guy who polyutherane'd a piece of fabric to the hood of my saab because I like the pattern and colors on it and I like the not-smooth feel of the fabric.
I think 'patina' and other 'not just boring paint' can look excellent on many cars. Sure it can be done poorly or on the wrong car, just like a perfect bass boat gold metal flake green can.
People want original and un berkeleyed up now. They are finally getting the whole its only original once part down pat. Not patina but used and maintained as original.
Look at well maintained survivor Ferrari's and Porsche's right now as an example.
Rust is an evil thing, and should be murdered with fire. Fake patina makes the baby Jesus cry. Clear coated patina should be a capital offense, punishable by being drawn and quartered.
The new, cool thing should be proper paint.
I do think there is a push back towards non-metallic paints.
Plain beige instead of metallic beige Plain red instead of metallic red Plain blue instead of metallic blue
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