How would you fix this?

Okay, this '37 Hudson has my jaw on my chest. It just exudes cool.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120568367742&viewitem=&_trkparms=clkid%3D8490485283179127794#ht_500wt_1138

But that hotrod flat black paintjob with the stripes absolutely kills it for me. I'm not die-hard opposed to that look (hell, I have stripes tattooed on my arm) but it's kinda played out, not to mention just totally wrong for an otherwise pretty original 70 year-old car.

I love the honest wear in the interior. In fact, these days I'm beginning to really appreciate the philosophy of 'it's only original once.' But, this one's already screwed in that regard, at least in terms of paint.

So, how would you fix it? How do you get fresh paint on a car to look appropriate with everything else sporting 70 years of wear and use? (And I'm not talking about a fake patina here.) Can it be done?

Paint it with Lacquer and rub it out enough to shine but not look perfect?

I'd just paint it an original color and be done with it..

That car needs paint, the "Rev Horton Heat" paint job doesn't look right.

I'd get a regular paint job on it, not a cheapo one but not a show one either. I don't think there is much else you can do unless you want to keep the flat black look. I wouldn't try to 'patina' it, just keep using it and it'll wear down a little.

Paint it, then run it through an automatic carwash a couple dozen times. Follow that up with wiping it down with a dusty dry rag every evening for a month, and it will lok properly aged in no time.

I would paint it brown.

EvanB wrote: Paint it with Lacquer and rub it out enough to shine but not look perfect?

+1 & you could rub it all the way out later if you wanted to.

Too bad he didn't put it up for sale before he 'improved' it... I agree the whole flat black thing with red wheels is pretty played out. Chances are it should be the color of the firewall in the one picture.

I wonder if you could do what Ratghia did with his car a while back, and wet sand the flat black off to get it back to the original paint underneath?

Someone please rescue that beauty from the Rat Rod set. It's stunning!

The pinstripes, flat black and red wheels by themselves would be wrong for that car, combining them just makes it look like a clown car. Even a "$98 Earl Scheib" paint job would look better.

I think a dark red/maroon deep laquer would look nice on that car, some nice chrome accents on the headlights, taillights and engine vents. I'm not sure what to do with the wheels, but red is not right at all. Maybe some wire wheels or something, I'm not sure. It should be an understated elegance, not really drawing attention to itself, but high quality and detailed when you look close. (if that makes any sense - I'm drowning my sorrows since Montreal got blown out tonight).

Bob

SillyImportRacer wrote:

EvanB wrote: Paint it with Lacquer and rub it out enough to shine but not look perfect?

+1 & you could rub it all the way out later if you wanted to.

This....in Hunter Green.

Buy it, sand off the stripes, re-paint sanding scuffs flat black and shoot the wheels gloss black with chrome lug nuts. Then save for a good paint job.

I agree to re-black it temporarily and then do a semi-decent paint job. A nice two tone in ivory and dark green or maybe burgundy. Do something classy but not flashy.

Schmidlap, clown car is exactly right. It looks like a cartoon.

I like the idea of shooting it with single stage lacquer and letting the elements have their way with it. And I definitely like the color on the firewall. Maybe play with a 2 tone variation on that theme.

As for wheels, he's got the Hudson hubcaps and trim rings. I'd black out the wheels and run those.

It didn't sell, so it sounds like he's going to "hot rod" it. Given the context, I'm guessing that means a 350/350 swap with flamethrower exhausts and some spiderwebs and skulls strewn about randomly. Raise your glass tonight in loving memory of the helpless Hudson as it once was and should have been.

Sigh. What a shame. Not that I really care about the car much, but there's just no good reason for it to look like that.

For me: Sand off the Von Clueless stripes and black everything out for now and drive it some while trying to find out what colors were good on a 37 Hudson. Then paint it one of those colors. Personally, for kicks, I'd go one further and tint the windows way, way black, too (I know the glass is probably super-rare, but tint's just plastic film...). The only 30s/40s Hudson I have ever seen up close and personal was a Commodore, and it was brown/tan 2-tone. Most decidedly not a hot rod, just a cool antique car.

It would look perfect with the brown/tan 2 tone combo.