The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk Paint or Leave Original?

Hello All,

Here is a link to a Canadian-built '51 GMC 1-ton pickup I have coming next weekend. My plan was to rebuild the original powertrain and leave the paint original. But I keep wondering if there is too much surface rust to justify this plan.

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1KjWXI9PQKqtMrKrZBnWsLQC5-VJo1Y9Y?usp=sharing

Do you guys think this would look good once cleaned up and covered with surface protection? Or is there just not enough paint for it to look good? I know this may just boil down to personal preference, but I would appreciate hearing opinions from the group. Thanks,

James

I think it would look good clear coated.
Looks pretty solid, just weathered.

Satin clear coat

For me, this one is a coin flip which would hinge on just one factor. Budget.
It is a rare truck. It appears very solid, even in the areas which there are usually problems.
If you choose to clean it up and leave it as is, you should store it inside. It will not remain solid for long out in the weather. If you do that, you can always change gears and do a full on disassembly and restoration at a later date.
Carl

James, the truck is only original once. I am doing a 37 Chev 1/2 ton and leaving the original patina on all the sheet metal. Cleaning everything with vinager and Dawn dish soap and3M pads. Then brushing on penatrol as it does not leave brush marks and protects the rusted surfaces. You can apply a new coat every year or two. What ever you decide to do enjoy and take pictures for the future. Bill

Thanks for the replies.

It is pretty solid other than the very bottoms of the A-pillars and the kick panels. Cab corners are good. If I keep the original paint I will get someone to airbrush over the patch panels to maintain the look. I am hoping that if I CLR the surface and give it a good clean the remaining paint will be more pronounced. I like the sound of the Penatrol as it sounds pretty simple to do. I have a 4-month old so time is a scarce resource!

I am glad you folks see the value in clear coating it. I have read that once you do that it can be a real pain if you want to repaint later on. Is that true?

I certainly will store it inside. I think it has earned that after a lifetime outside. Looks not too bad for a farm truck though! My '52 looks a heck of a lot worse than this '51.

Anyone else have an opinion?

James

Oooooooooh .... the yellow caution flag comes out .... This question is a "Third Rail" question that leads nowhere good ... You can either be a lazy, cheap red neck or a stuck up pompous NOS Nazi. One or the other ...

Me? I say click your heels and ... seig heil! (paint it!)

‘50 GMC 1/2 ton. Photo shows the results of 27 years of siting in a South Dakota field. 5% gloss over the paint and rust after clean up. It was completely disassembled and every part was rebuilt. Very little rust through but many dents.
The original owner stated the truck was full green with no rust and the door company name was not visible when it was parked.

I have had half dozen 39-57 trucks over the last 30 years. This one in “original” patina brings far more comments, conversations and questions than all the others combined. (The others were were all restored with near perfect paint and chrome.)

You're right---it boils down to personal preference. It's your truck--do it however you want.

Oh no. Not another patina vs paint argument.

I suppose patina is safer in one way. While I was parking my truck today, this woman walking down the sidewalk tripped and almost fell over. Her friend asked "what's wrong with you?" The woman replied "I was looking at the truck!" If it looked like it did before we started working on it, she wouldn't have given it a second look and tripped.

I have been experimenting applying linseed oil on my '54 to see how in holds up, outside storage, though.

Ed

My truck came from southern Indiana at a time before all the salt was applied so it was in reasonable shape rust wise. The top surfaces were in good shape but the usual rust in the floor and cab corners. So I started on a minor refurbishing. Then the Bob Villa syndrome kicked in and 2 years later it was done. If you don't know you can see the final results in my picture. Best of luck.

I should have known better than to start such an existential conversation like this haha. But I do appreciate everyone's take on this.

I will preserve whats there for now, save a little money, and consider painting in the future if it bothers me that much.

Thanks all.

James

Love the patina best part you don't have to worry about people touching ti or parking it anywhere. Kid love touching stuff and gives them the chance to really enjoy the fruits of all your hard labor. I also have done the vinegar and soap bath 3m then boiled linseed oil. Just another option.

Once it’s delivered and you take your time going through it to make it road worthy, then drive it a couple of months, you’ll bond with your truck. You’ll accept it for what it looks like, and I’ll bet that you’ll never want to paint it! Freshly painted trucks don’t look like an old truck oughta.

It looks fine to me.

Done deal, thanks all. I will follow up in time about how it turns out. I will keep the truck looking experienced (maybe straighten the fenders just a little).

James

That truck of Showkey's look great. I've seen a couple that have a high gloss over the rust. Had a wet look that didn't look right to me.

I'd be in the don't paint camp.

Yes sir, I agree with Mark........ Don’t spray any gloss over the rust! It just don’t look right.

If it were mine, based on the pictures, it would get disassembled, dents removed ,stripped,epoxy primed and painted in single stage urethane. It has been original 68 years now, it would be a shame in my book to not give this survivor another pretty body to go with that pretty face of a grill.
My truck was about almost as bad, and looking back, I'm glad I put the work into it and made it new again.
Steve

A new paint job (and the body work always needed) can be done anytime fast. Patina takes a lifetime.

I don't ever want to deal with the time and money it would take to repaint mine, so I will just try and keep the original paint looking okay. After trying a few things I started just wiping the whole thing down with Gibbs penetrating oil, which helps. I could spend many years and thousands of dollars, but it would still run/drive the same after all of that. It is more fun to drive it now, as is. The last picture is from February 2018 right after I got it.

I have a straight original grille to go on it to pretty up the face a bit more.

I think the beauty of leaving it original for now is I can save up and maybe in the future I can paint it. If I paint now, I can't change my mind later!

Thanks for all the feedback folks. But really, it boils down to what my wife says...

James

Doesn't everything ??

The only person who needs to be happy with the look of the truck is you. Drive the truck as is for the summer and see how people react to it and then decide if you want to sink another pile of money into paint and body.

Leave it alone. Its a beauty. Always keep in mind that it is only original once. You can not ever have its true character back once restored or refinished. I would advise against the clear coat though, I would imagine it would begin flaking off due to the rust continuing to do its thing. That type of rust is not bad, Its only surface. When you decide restore it fine but until you are ready to pull the trigger on it, leave its story showing. Mine is a lot like it but a 56'. You'll get more compliments than you can imagine.

Just keep in mind that Patina = deterioration.
When your pride and joy starts to rot from the underside or thins the sheet metal considerably from the exposure sides, it is time to forget about how cool you think patina is and start restoration efforts to save it from ruin.

James' truck has considerable cancer at the cab corners and bottom of the cowl/fender area, you dont gloat on patina when that is the case, you start fixing it.

It's really up to you. I prefer to have a solid one color vehicle, which keeps the wife from complaining about how ugly it is.

sstock

You make a fair point. To be clear I don't plan to leave the rot. I agree it needs to be repaired. I will have to patch the lower cowls and inside kick panels. I differ on the cab corners as one is near perfect and the other has surface pitting. That one might need more repair than meets the eye, but we will see.

I would like to then hire a paint shop to try to match the original paint on the patches. There is a great deal of excellent original paint on this truck (And a white pin stripe that circles the cab just below the windshield? Never seen that, but I want to preserve what is left!) and the green and rust brown compliment each other well. But are you saying that the other surface rust can't be halted if done properly? I don't care if it may take re-application of whatever surface treatment I pick, I just want this truck to tell a story.

Thanks for all the input, folks.

James

If you do a paint job it becomes less of a truck and more of a toy. I know, I want to use mine as a truck, hauling rock, lawn debris, etc but I don't want to scratch the paint.

James you have an array of advice, sounds like you have a plan, enjoy the process to make it as you choose. I have found that sometimes you start along a pathway and then see where it leads you.
Steve