Thread: How to paint a rat rod to look like rust ?

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Did anyone who knows watch the episode of monster garage where they did an old skool model A pickup in a rust finish ? I would like to know how to do it . I am building a 37 chev pick-up rat rod and I want it to have that crusty rusty look. Is it paint or acid ? They even had a new set of chrome valve cover with that rusty finish painted on so it looked like the chrome had peeled away and the rust underneath was showing. Thanks in advance for any info

I wondered about that too. On one episode they built a VW drag car, and did the same finish to even the fiberglass front end. Looks like maybe they put metal shavings into some kind of binder and brush it on???

I'd like to know the answer to this too.


Don

brush it on with a old bush like wood grain job some red oxide tint and yellow oxide and amber and play with a old panel you could lay done a base of silver paint and float the bush over it to give it that going to hell look

Originally Posted by Itoldyouso

I wondered about that too. On one episode they built a VW drag car, and did the same finish to even the fiberglass front end. Looks like maybe they put metal shavings into some kind of binder and brush it on???

I'd like to know the answer to this too.


Don

Don, I have seen the Monster Garage Jesse James drag VW "in person". You are correct, the painted new steel, aluminum, and fiber glass parts look just like the rest of the original "rusted body". You won't see any brush marks, it's more like a movie make up person did it. Perfect finish for a Rat Rod.
John Palmer

im not sure of the exact look u want, but a friend of mine tried somethin like that on a 63 chevy pu.he just prepped the body real good, but primed it with cheap rattlecan red primer( walmart specil stuff) then set it outside...after few weeks it ahd faded the primer an was lettin minor surface rust show thru..looked nice an grungy! soon as he got the look he wanted he wiped it down with metal conditioner an so far it hasnt rusted any further..just gotta kep an eye on it. The conditioner kinda blotched the primer but tat jus aded to the look! ight not be the style u want but it was a good cheap homebrew.however the style the other guys mentioned would probly be a lil safer an long term with no worries bout yer project suddenly rustin out from under ya!

Geez, and I spend a lot of time getting rid of anything that even looks like rust..... must be getting old, I guess!!!

It takes a pretty good artist to do it, and it's probably harder than doing a nice paint job. If you don't do it right, it looks like just what it is . . . fake.

Anyone who wants a rusty ratrod just ought to let it rust. It'll get rattier every day.

in mich there are many types of rust but i think it would not be to hard .red oxide primer that is thick will spray out bumpy and look like some thing that has gone to hell and some dry bush work in some paint thats coming off you could spray some flatten out clear on the red oxide and go form there with the brush work with flattener in the paint

Ideas that occur to me are:

Stipple some glaze over the primer with an old brush, to give you some "bubbling" texture.

You could sand through thin color coats of "grayed out" paint, to show "weathering", especially on the top body surfaces. It always gets lighter as it chalks, so be sure to add some white. This sanding could also work on thin lettering in another color. As the paint breaks down, it will leave whitish streaks from rain run off.

Stipple the brown shade over the bubbling areas, and practice flicking brown paint speckles from an old toothbrush for random specks of rust.

Airbrush some orangey-brown streaking down the side, below the rust areas, to simulate the bleeding rust "run off".

Finish off with flat clear.

Originally Posted by HOTRODPAINT

Ideas that occur to me are:

Stipple some glaze over the primer with an old brush, to give you some "bubbling" texture.

You could sand through thin color coats of "grayed out" paint, to show "weathering", especially on the top body surfaces. It always gets lighter as it chalks, so be sure to add some white. This sanding could also work on thin lettering in another color. As the paint breaks down, it will leave whitish streaks from rain run off.

Stipple the brown shade over the bubbling areas, and practice flicking brown paint speckles from an old toothbrush for random specks of rust.

Airbrush some orangey-brown streaking down the side, below the rust areas, to simulate the bleeding rust "run off".

Finish off with flat clear.

yes that is what i tired to say. but the chalking that is good .i think you could get that deep pit look with the brush strait in with the bristles some thined out red with black some steel wool or a sponge may work good to or plastic wrap you would have to slow the paint down a bit

srip it and drive it in the rain i dont do it but watched it done by a friend. he shot black base really thick and rough almost splatter paint, shot some red oxide over it and then went over it with red scotchbrite. after the red faded it looked old with rust showing thru. if i wanted that look i would strip it and leave it bare.

Take it down to the nearest truck wash and tell them to wash it down with wheel acid, and drive it home. Leave it outside.

Lessee . . . building a hot rod is showcasing your skills is it not?

Primer or flat is ok, that indicates to most that you're headed toward a gloss paint job - even if you're not.

Back in the day there were cars with full primer. but it was accepted that real paint was on the way.

And yeah, I know I don't understand the fake rust look and all, but I do know that I'm not impressed by it.
If you don't care about the finish work, it makes me wonder if the other work is shoddy as well....

[QUOTE=C9x]Lessee . . . building a hot rod is showcasing your skills is it not?
I know I don't understand the fake rust look and all, but I do know that I'm not impressed by it.


Personally, I agree. I have spent most of my life trying to make vehicles look better than they were....not worse. It is hard to think outside of that "box" after so many years.

Maybe change is easier for me to accept than some, because I work for others, and often have to become a part of their plan, not mine. Sometimes the challenge is not to do what I think would look best, but to help them to achieve the goal they have in mind.

If left to me, every project would have a unique paint theme, rich color, interesting detail, and a "show finish". Since I am a "hired gun", I always have to remind myself that it is their project, and their money. I just have to decide if I want to be a part of it.

The problem is it takes a lot of talent to make that faux finish look real - probably as much talent as it takes to paint a car to look nice. Do it wrong, and it won't look weathered . . . it'll just look bad.

I guess that's the difference between "now" and "then." Back then, we never made them look bad on purpose.