frenchyd said:
In reply to wspohn :
That and super glue the tears back together. Leather loves superglue and once repaired I've never had to redo it.
Do wear gloves though. I use the thicker super glue and try to get it exactly on the edges. That way the repair becomes invisable. If you do get it on too thick sand it flush with fine emery board. Then re-dye that area.
I usually sand wear spots as well Re-dye and then use leather food.
I've never heard this before, but I may have just the right Porsche seat to try it on. I removed it about a decade ago and have been trying to figure out the best way to repair it, without making it look out of place, ever since.
Thank you Frenchy!
thross said:
This "Patina" at a high end auction drove me crazy! Really?
That's not patina, that's neglect.
And I really hate seeing massive values on cars that were neglected with no use and probably for storage of stuff on them.
Patina should be valued if the car was used the entire time. Neglect should lower the value.
In reply to alfadriver :
I get what you're saying. The market shouldn't reward doing nothing. Yet mileage will be low. It will clean up easily and look very presentable with nominal work be a source of pride.
Looking at the car in question I suspect a good wash and careful buffing would bring back the paint (advantage of lacquer finish) The dent in the front fender could probably be pulled out without repainting leaving very little to detect it had ever happened. since access to the back side would be easy, just remove the wheel.
That's a drop head Coupe. Wood dash and trim on the inside. Likely has the wool carpets. Which will clean up nicely.
I other words a careful cleaning will make it s pretty respectable car
In reply to frenchyd :
Neglect is not nothing. Neglect lets the paint get ruined because of natural environmental attacks- like bird crap. Neglect allows the engine to not spin for a really long time- allowing condensation to make rust that can be very damaging. Let alone the letting in of varmints to the interior, very much ruining the carpet that is so valuable.
Neglect very much undoes low mileage.
Drives me crazy to see people think their rusty junk yard has value in it thanks to the rusty hulks of "valuable" cars. These cars are returning to their original state, which is metal oxides.
But if people want to pretend that it's valuable, it's their money. But this isn't preservation, it's neglect.
In reply to alfadriver :
As I said neglect can be reversed. The car in question, A day in my hands would have a brilliant shine. Clean and glossy all around.
A few more days would have it as close to mechanical perfection as it's capable of.
The unfortunate alternative is a restoration that removes all signs of history and past life.
In a perfect world cars would be perfectly maintained and properly used. But the later part of that sentence lacks one word to complete it. Up as in used up.
Again, back to the car in question. That's a later Jaguar XK120 perhaps a 1953. 70 years ago it was built. It would have taken a very very successful 30 year old to purchase it. And he would have needed to live to 100. A few drives in perfect weather Every year and still dust would have collected for the last 20 years as age and infirmity took its toll on him.
It's not the fault of the car but the mere mortals that own them.
In reply to The Staff of Motorsport Marketing :
Does patina have to be on the original to be valued?
My Black Jack spl was built in 1958. Raced for over 10 years then put out to pasture Litterly.
When I recovered it the body had all those years of racing accidents mushed up fiberglass etc. so a complete restoration was done. Including paint. But for the next 45+ years in Vintage racing it was pretty much left as restored. Spot touch ups from stones, a gouge filled in from a garage incident. Etc. Last I looked it was as raced in the Packard museum.
Patina is the result of something being used and cared for for a long time. It is evidence of a life, all the wear marks and repairs. Cleaning is part of care.
Distressing is an attempt to fake patina.
Neglect is parking a car in a barn for 40 years. I'm with Alfa on this one.
How do you preserve patina? You continue to use, maintain, clean and repair the vehicle.
In reply to Keith Tanner :
And in that case, you can't preserve patina, because patina evolves.
