Once, in the beginning, every classic was completely stripped, repainted and chromed. And certainly our American and German friends did not look at an ounce of paint or chrome anymore. For example, many classics have been saved from death to resurrect like a phoenix.
Patina is the new old
But then a change came. 'dans son jus' and 'as found', you could suddenly get away with that. A classic was allowed, no, you could see that he lived. The prices of classically preserved classics rose and more and more critical attention was paid to what we called 'perfect restorations' for that time.
It remains of course a matter of taste.
Someone like Mrs. Patricia Paay naturally looks fantastic for her age. There is time and money in it. We would say "perfectly restored!" But of course you could dream about what a beautiful older lady she would have been if she had let nature take its course and you would have come across her without makeup at the local supermarket. People are not getting older. We just get more patina! So we only need to be technically restored.
Authentic must!
The cars in the upper segment of the market are easiest to find in authentic condition. Because there is a reasonable chance that a Lamborghini 350 GT from 1966 with only 13.000 miles on the counter has never dented and sprayed. And to keep it Italian for a moment: Quite a lot of the once-sold MV Agusta four-cylinder models were purchased purely for 'the beauty' or as an investment. At Gallery Aaldering there are currently two. As new.
But 'ordinary' classics?
You can often forgo life on that. Now we have to state clearly that rust holes are not patina. Neither torn upholstery and gloomy hanging heavens. By 'patina' we mean a nice weathering on a tough, technically sound basis. That implies a long and dry previous life under not too heavy circumstances. If the external qualifications are okay, but if the technology demands attention, or is worn out, then the approach is to respect the appearance, but to bring the technology back into order.
There are limits to patina
But we live in a decadent world. So there are people who can not afford to provide a wonderfully surviving VW Beetle with a Porsche block and the widest wheels or to provide a 1956'er Chevy pick up with a BMW turbo diesel and six-speed automatic gearbox. That is laughter when the light turns green, but in our eyes just a bridge too far.
Decadent or smart?
A trend that is apparently becoming popular is to make a structurally healthy classic with moderate paintwork look even more vivid. The result is just as fake as it comes across as convincing. And apart from the fact that hipsters are crazy about it, such a 'wheatering session' is also considerably cheaper than conventional tightening and spraying. Here in the Netherlands there is an artist, and that is not a bad idea, because he also makes paintings, which in any case has found a revenue model to make a classic look like it has been exposed to the seasons for forty years. That is not real, but it is convincing and endearing. And as said: Not even expensive. But we appreciate the true signs of the times more ...
It is of course true that a patina that has grown over the years turns very quickly into ordinary rust ...
And brushing your entire classic with Owatrol is also something…
Thanks to Frans Mandigers, www.rustlook.nl
