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Sat Jun 11, 2011 9:41 am

What exactly is this fascination with rust and old deteriated original paint? Is this a youthful trend? I really do not understand this hyped-up state of disrepair. I get the fact that a vehicle is only original once,however,wouldn't an owner of a vintage splitwindow be doing the rig a benefit by protecting it with a fresh "facelift"? Obviously,not all of us have the funds to dump on bodywork/paint and its money better spent on keeping these road worthy. I see a lot of type 2's that seem to fetch a lot of money due to the fact that they are rolling rust-buckets...DON'T GET IT! No offense intended...

Sat Jun 11, 2011 10:17 am

One really good factor of original paint is that nothing is hidden. No bondo covering rust and hacks. You never know for sure what is hiding under those nice and shiny "restored" buses. unless you have full photo pics during the restoration job.

Sat Jun 11, 2011 10:56 am

Nice, new and shiny buses lack soul and character.

Sat Jun 11, 2011 11:01 am

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=104334&highlight=original+paint

To each his own, but here is some light reading for ya

Sat Jun 11, 2011 11:40 am

I can see this topic getting some attention. I personally get a different feeling when driving a redone-painted bus,(good feeling) driving a non-restored rusty original paint bus-truck I feel like a king,nothing can ruin my day.

Sat Jun 11, 2011 12:08 pm

I had to fully restore my 1963 VW camper so it would last longer than I will, but I do like original paint. That being said, I don't like the fad of letting a VW bus body rust out because the sheet metal is not protected from the elements (the factory primer was not waterproof). I equate it to the fad of people, including rich people, wearing jeans that have a lot of holes in them.

Sat Jun 11, 2011 12:31 pm

Anybody can have a restored bus. Dents, patina, and character only come with time, an irreplaceable commodity. I don't dye my hair and I don't paint my buses. I like the patina to match!

From this:

To this:

And I never even washed it!

I guess it's a matter of taste, I figure once I dig them out and get them back on the road it's up to the next guy to do the resto. Some of the buses I've rescued have been on magazine covers after $50,000 restorations; arguably preserved for lifetimes. I just dig them out and drive them! THat's the best part of living in Flipperland!*

'Flipperland' is some place designated by Thom Fitzpatrick, I think I live there sometimes.

Sat Jun 11, 2011 12:45 pm

I believe in preserving a bus, so patina has its limits, but a shiny bus lacks something to me.

Sat Jun 11, 2011 1:38 pm

I like the look if it's not ROTTED !! Rotted gapping holes-no- surface rust & sun burnt looks fine---

Sat Jun 11, 2011 2:05 pm

buses 'n bikes wrote: Nice, new and shiny buses lack soul and character.

I am only going to assume you are being humorous when you say this

Sat Jun 11, 2011 2:47 pm

Just consider the sheer size of a bus. The immense square footage. Do you really thing anyone is going to spend time fixing and sanding these huge beasts? Probably not.

The 'patina' movement is perfect for buses, it's the perfect excuse not to fix anything.

Sat Jun 11, 2011 2:59 pm

....But in some particular situations, it can a form of laziness.

Sat Jun 11, 2011 3:54 pm

I have wondered this exact question. I am relatively new to the bus scene, and only owned one other air cooled (70 fastback) but feel the prices for some of the "buckets" are a bit crazy. I am a huge fan of the original buses that have made it through in great shape and give you a real feel for what it would have been to own one of these a year or two from new. Those ones are, to me, worth every penny. The buckets are a novelty, which I can appreaciate, but would never be a customer of.

Sat Jun 11, 2011 4:04 pm

Some people appreciate the fact that Original paint is more valuable than 3-5 resprays or an 80's resto.

Some people like to wear brand new converse- and others like to wear converse with the Worn out look. (holes in all the usual places)

There is no difference- Each person has their own style. Your's might not be the same as mine- One might be in the majority or vise verse.

This question could go on for hundreds of pages- The bottom line is- Some people like shiny redone buses- and others like ratty tat tatty buses. To each his own.

Supprise: Some people don't even like buses. :shock:

Sat Jun 11, 2011 4:13 pm

Thomas - were you around VW's for the 'HoodRide' movement? You would have really been baffled then...

Like a lot of terms, 'patina' has been misapplied a bit, and there are some buses that are pretty far gone, but rank high on the patina-meter. There are quite a few, like the Jurassic Kombi above, whose exteriors may be highly patinated but are sound, good-running vehicles which just happen to show their age.

Fortunately, it's becoming more common for people to restore their mechanicals and do limited body restoration in such a way to preserve their patina of age. Personally, I'm glad this is happening more, and I see more skill displayed on these than some complete repaints.

Like most things, if you don't like it, don't do it. Just don't repaint any nice patina'd buses...

Sat Jun 11, 2011 5:17 pm

Because I would rather drive it that take it out of commission for 1-3 years while spending thousands to make it shiny. I like both shiny and patina. Patina is easier for me and lets me enjoy them. Both my buses are OG paint.

Sat Jun 11, 2011 5:50 pm

busmania24 wrote: Because I would rather drive it that take it out of commission for 1-3 years while spending thousands to make it shiny. I like both shiny and patina. Patina is easier for me and lets me enjoy them. Both my buses are OG paint.

And that truck is why patina is sexy as hell!

Sat Jun 11, 2011 6:09 pm

the "shitty splitty"

Sat Jun 11, 2011 6:55 pm

It seems that there is a movement to let old VW bus bodies rust out. You don't have to do a full restoration to give the bare metal some protection. You can even make the paint look old. Rusty metal is not patina!
I have mentioned this before but I will never forget the advertisement on this site for an old VW bus that had a real shitty, rusty body with newer running gear: the owner was bragging about how long it took nature to get the body to look that way, which he, apparently, thought made his high asking price justifiable.

Sat Jun 11, 2011 8:47 pm

Structural rust is a serious issue.
It's enough that the crumple zone in a Split is your legs and the only side intrusion stuff is whatever boxes you may've shoved against the wall or door.
The odd little rust hole or bubbling is one thing but reasoning that gaping holes add legitimacy or street cred to a bus is delusional.
It may be fun to look at but either it should be a place to begin fixing or time to acknowledge the Bus should rust in peace.
Patina, however, is a different thing all together.
I like patina.
The "grey hair" analogy woodslat refered to is an excellent one.
There is definitely a budgetry and laziness side to it too.
It costs a LOT to resto any vehicle to the point where it's straight enough to pull off new paint.
And you can't half do it either.
Otherwise the new job will last no time at all so you need to pay out big $$$s to make it worthwhile.
I have to admit I love the "just pulled out of the scrub" look.
Here in Australia we have to fix all rust holes, however minor they are, just to get a road worthy certificate.
That means what may look horrible has been cut and repaired and then sprayed and sanded back and "aged" so it looks like it did before.
Then they are coated with Anchor Wax or similar stuff to seal and preserve the car.
Of course it's also much easier not to have to wash the vehicle.
My '67 Panel was resprayed matt Desert Yellow.....basically the colour of dust......not just for an Afrika Korps theme but because the dust doesn't show up.
But don't ever believe that all or even most patina or "rat" buses are products of laziness.
They are carefully watched to ensure whatever metal issues they do have do not become serious ones.
Besides, rat buses mean that so many Splits that may've sat in wreckers because they weren't "nice" are actually driven and preserved and enjoyed.
And if someone says "I'd like a nice motor and low suspension but none of that surface rust crap" there's no law against them buying a rat Bus and restoring the metal to shiny beauty.