Patina Protection

[reidy]

I have a 1942 Chev truck that is still in original paint/ surface rust. This has been in my family for the past 45 years as a farm truck.
I want to get this back on the road but after much consideration I feel that I would be destroying the history if I stripped and painted it.

I don't want to clear coat it or put some product that permanently seals it as these often look a bit fake. I have heard of people using CLR and some sort of wax/linseed oil or diesel. I have not seen this first hand or heard of the possible negatives.

Please share your opinions here. To give it some Guzzi content please replace Chev truck with 1971 Guzzi Ambassador.

Thanks

Steve

[Perazzimx14]

If it survived the last 45 years as a farm vehicle and isn't rotted to pieces why do anything to the exterior to protect it? Get it mechanically stable and keep a roof over its head when not in use.

Let the patina keep improving!

[yogidozer]

Love the look of those older trucks! Put up a picture(s) if you can.

[giusto]

If it survived the last 45 years as a farm vehicle and isn't rotted to pieces why do anything to the exterior to protect it? Get it mechanically stable and keep a roof over its head when not in use.

Let the patina keep improving!

I totally agree.
I have a 71 Ambassador with "patina" and wouldn't touch it. "It took years to get those souvenirs" J Prine.

[EldoMike]

A friend of mine owns a 1933 HD VL motorcycle with a LOT of patina...he just keeps it wiped down with WD40

[yogidozer]

A friend of mine owns a 1933 HD VL motorcycle with a LOT of patina...he just keeps it wiped down with WD40

I think you mean 10-40 

[EldoMike]

I think you mean 10-40 

Nope

[Sheepdog]

You could try ACF50. It was an anti corrosion spray that was developed in the aviation industry. It has to be reapplied periodically, but it's super effective.

https://www.amazon.com/ACF-50-Anti-Corrosion-Lubricant-Compound-Aerosol/dp/B000P1C8UO

[sign216]

This is an excellent question, as paint is original only once.

I used regular auto wax, but agree that it just doesn't seem like enough. 

I've heard ACF-50 is popular in the UK for cycle protection, what with their wet, damp winters.

I like auto wax, because I'm fearful that the solvents in WD-40, ACF-50, etc could darken or lift up the original paint and patina. 

Joe

[EldoMike]

Understand the concern about solvents...Paul has been using a rag soaked in WD40 on this for over 20 years...that is the original tank decal..

[brider]

Please share your opinions here.

DON'T "RESTORE" THE APPEARANCE!

Fix it mechanically, but don't TOUCH the paint. You asked for opinions, and this is mine. Dear god, there are so few of them left, treasure it as-is. The actual $$ value with remain higher if you leave it alone, as well.

I also have an Ambo that I ain't going to paint.

[Ringosdad]

Understand the concern about solvents...Paul has been using a rag soaked in WD40 on this for over 20 years...that is the original tank decal..

WD-40 its basically fish oil in spray form.

[ccoli]

I have the same question but it is for a Moto Guzzi. 1932 Sport 15

[sign216]

Understand the concern about solvents...Paul has been using a rag soaked in WD40 on this for over 20 years...that is the original tank decal..

If the decal is good, then motor oil is a safe applicant.  But then...I still ride my bikes.  Motor oil will just collect dust and grit all over.
That's sub-optimum as well.

[n3303j]

ACF-50 doesn't bother paints or plastics and it does creep into every nook & cranny. It's not cheap.

[LowRyter]

My body shop guy built this rat rod.  And I asked him about clear coating as rust protection and he told me the rust on this one would do no more damage.  It was complete and had already coated the entire body and he didn't expect it could damage it.





I know that I send a couple of summers working for the gas company and we installed anodes on to huge transmission lines (maybe 18- 24 inches and !!!!! LBs pressure).   I was told that "rust" was more a protectant against pitting. 

[wirespokes]

Twenty years ago a beautiful R90S showed up on display at the Dealer in Salem Oregon. Supposedly it was original and hadn't been restored even though it looked new. The story was that it had lived at the beach most of its life and the owner had religiously wiped it down with WD-40. There was no rust anywhere on that bike.

I'm not crazy about the mess from dust and dirt collecting on a coating of WD-40 and am now trying Lemon Pledge. I recall a story of a guy whose bike looked like new even while traveling. He sprayed the bike with Lemon Pledge and the dirt and bugs wiped off easily.

[sign216]

I'm not crazy about the mess from dust and dirt collecting on a coating of WD-40 and am now trying Lemon Pledge. I recall a story of a guy whose bike looked like new even while traveling. He sprayed the bike with Lemon Pledge and the dirt and bugs wiped off easily.

Lemon Pledge is an interesting idea.  Let me take it one step further, how about paste furniture wax?
But then, how is that different than car wax? 
Maybe the furniture wax goes on thicker?  idk

The furniture wax probably isn't weather resistant.  It's not designed to be outdoors.

Perhaps one of those new spray-on car waxes, that give an instant shine, like S100?  At least they are designed for outdoor use.

[cliffrod]

A friend from another forum uses & recommends Gibbs.  He has used it for many years and is very happy with it.  I haven't gotten any yet, but it's on the list to try-

http://www.gibbsbrandlubricant.com

[Andy1]

I sprayed WD40 on a new SR500 that I kept for many years and rode in UK conditions in winter.  I have never been a fan of cleaning bikes so it did get a bit grubby.....and more WD40 was periodically applied.  But many years later when I came to restore it the WD40 washed off with solvents and there was very little rust.   ACF50 is heavier than WD40 and will be much more greasy.  I use a combination of WD40 and ACF50 it on my all year run BMW.

Iron in the steel forms rust as an oxide but if it is not disturbed and there is no moisture then the rusting will not continue.  Salt on steel is bad as it absorbs water from the atmosphere and keeps the area damp so rusting continues.  Just depends where you are and what conditions it lives in
Andyb

[reidy]

Here is a picture of the truck turning up at my place. For some reason when I drag it across it gets cropped. I have the Bonnet or Hood as it is called in some places.





It is a Holden assembled Chev truck. They came to Australia in Knock down kit form.
Mine was used by the Australian Army as we were in the war before 42. The original driver scratched his name and number in the dashboard and I have tracked down his war record.

My wife is into research and she tracked down an old newspaper article where the driver was charged for driving an Army truck under the influence in 1943 and had a minor accident in Brisbane as he crashed into a statue. My front bumper bar has an unusual bend so there is a fair chance it is the truck.

I was about three when we got the truck and I remember being allowed to ride home in it. I started driving it at about age 7 and it was mainly used as a hay or grain truck on the farm.

Steve

[yogidozer]

WOW, that's a big un. Looks like four wheel drive too.

[reidy]

It is 160 inch wheelbase and is only two wheel drive. The front tyres are the same as when it was purchased in 1974 and they looked old then, they may date back to the 40's. The rear tires blew when we had it well loaded and were replaced with old aircraft tires. When I went to pick it up we put 10psi in each tire and it held air for a week or so.

As you can see the patina probably should be kept hence me looking for a suitable product. I could repaint it and wait 77 years for it to redevelop but I am too impatient for that.

I will probably shorten the tray a bit. It is not original as it was replaced in the early eighties with Iornbark timber milled from our farm.

I am keen to hear more about the Gibbs product that was mentioned earlier.

Steve

[oldbike54]

 Yak Fat .

 Dusty

[e.cleven]

I am a firm believer in WD40. I have an 02 Stone that stays in Florida and a 08 Calvin that stays in Minnesota. When it comes to store them for the Winter or Summer I hose them down with the "fish oil" and when it's time to take them out of storage just wash them with an automotive soap.
There is no corrosion or rust anywhere on the bikes.
WD40 can be bought on 5 gallon cans for large jobs..

Good luck with your project.

Ride Safe
Earl

[Groover]

Very cool project. I did something similar a few years ago with one of my vintage Vespas. I used Eastwood's Fast Etch (https://www.eastwood.com/rust-remover-eastwood-fast-etch.html), which converts rust into zinc phosphate. Not sure if it's what you want, but these are my results. Best if applied on a warm day in the shade (not direct sunlight) let it do convert, then wash and wax. It kept the patina, though not as "rusty" looking which is exactly what I was aiming for. It has maintained that new appearance years later, the only places where rust has appears again is if it was under some lifted paint where the product didn't get to it previously - if that happen, then either leave it or spray it again - I've only sprayed mine once in 2013, the "after" photo I'm using here was taken in 2017. Also, I did not repaint the forks - the fast etch just made the rust there look grey which almost matches the factory silver paint (from a distance).

Word of caution, it does mess up some plastics - for example it's old dried up black plastic, it will streak it white - long story short, this works but use with caution and once applied, you can't get rust back there if you wanted it...




Hope that helps.

[Toecutter]

Twenty years ago a beautiful R90S showed up on display at the Dealer in Salem Oregon. Supposedly it was original and hadn't been restored even though it looked new. The story was that it had lived at the beach most of its life and the owner had religiously wiped it down with WD-40. There was no rust anywhere on that bike.

I'm not crazy about the mess from dust and dirt collecting on a coating of WD-40 and am now trying Lemon Pledge. I recall a story of a guy whose bike looked like new even while traveling. He sprayed the bike with Lemon Pledge and the dirt and bugs wiped off easily.

Sorta off topic for the thread, but on the topic of lemon pledge. I worked as a dockhand as a young man, for a bush pilot outfit. Lemon pledge was the ONLY product allowed to touch the windows in the planes.

[Toecutter]

Very cool project. I did something similar a few years ago with one of my vintage Vespas. I used Eastwood's Fast Etch (https://www.eastwood.com/rust-remover-eastwood-fast-etch.html), which converts rust into zinc phosphate. Not sure if it's what you want, but these are my results. Best if applied on a warm day in the shade (not direct sunlight) let it do convert, then wash and wax. It kept the patina, though not as "rusty" looking which is exactly what I was aiming for. It has maintained that new appearance years later, the only places where rust has appears again is if it was under some lifted paint where the product didn't get to it previously - if that happen, then either leave it or spray it again - I've only sprayed mine once in 2013, the "after" photo I'm using here was taken in 2017. Also, I did not repaint the forks - the fast etch just made the rust there look grey which almost matches the factory silver paint (from a distance).

Word of caution, it does mess up some plastics - for example it's old dried up black plastic, it will streak it white - long story short, this works but use with caution and once applied, you can't get rust back there if you wanted it...


Damn. I kinda like that. Might get some of that for a couple of gas tanks I have... maybe even the old case tractor.




Hope that helps.

[bodine99]

I have a 1942 Chev truck that is still in original paint/ surface rust. This has been in my family for the past 45 years as a farm truck.
I want to get this back on the road but after much consideration I feel that I would be destroying the history if I stripped and painted it.

I don't want to clear coat it or put some product that permanently seals it as these often look a bit fake. I have heard of people using CLR and some sort of wax/linseed oil or diesel. I have not seen this first hand or heard of the possible negatives.

Please share your opinions here. To give it some Guzzi content please replace Chev truck with 1971 Guzzi Ambassador.

Thanks

Steve

Another fan of Lemon Pledge

[wirespokes]

Up till now I've only used Lemon Pledge on the visor - a squirt or two from the spray bottle, buff, and water just beads off and also makes it really clear. Doesn't smell bad either.