How to Age Automotive Paint

The big look in car paint nowadays is called "patina." A vehicle with a quality patina is one that still has the factory paint but has sat outside in disrepair for decades and now has a mixture of rust, wind damage, water stains and faded paint, creating an old and weathered look. But if you want to create a fake patina by aging your paint, that's possible, too. Just be creative. This project vehicle is a 1951 Chevrolet pickup, but other vehicles can be done in a similar fashion.

Instructions

1

Rub down the entire car using the red scuffing pad. You want to be sure there is no shine left to the finish; that way it looks weathered.

2

Sand the upper portion of the driver's door panel with the 200-grit sandpaper. The goal is to make it look like the factory paint wore down from decades of the driver hanging his arm out the window, so if need be, sit in the truck and hang your arm out to see where it would sit. Then sand appropriately.

3

Reduce the white paint 50 percent using the reducer and a mixing cup. You want the white to look washed out.

4

Airbrush the white paint in streaks anywhere you find a bolt or crevice on the vehicle. Often, water stains down from a bolt, and creates a whitish tint to the paint. Do this near the door handle, the moldings on the top of the cab, the tailgate, and any other accessories. If it looks like too much, sand it down using the red scuffing pad once it's dry.

5

Mix the brown and orange in separate mixing cups with a 50-percent mix of reducer.

6

Airbrush the reduced brown onto areas that are commonly rusted. This includes the seam underneath the rear windows, rockers and fender corners. You want to do this lightly so it looks like rust.

7

Apply the reduced orange to the brown areas using the airbrush. You want to build highlights to the brown, to help make it look more rusty.

8

Step back and look at the vehicle. If you need to add more white or rust, do so. If you think it looks too heavy, sand down the paint.