This fine old Chevy pickup was parked right across from my old Ford at Jerry’s one day recently. Nice patina! But then the bumper caught my eye. Patina?
That can’t be natural patine. Way too even and…obvious. The whole point of patina is that it’s uneven.
So is this some process, or just a faux finish?
Why did full sized American pick up trucks have to become longer, wider, taller and larger than this one?
WHY ??
Because AMERICA!!!!
Srsly, though, why does a dog lick his balls? Because he can.
Longer for more cab space, and a better crumple zone in front. Taller because 4WD is more common, and also for more cab space. But wider? The ’67-72s were 79″ wide, and modern pickups are also 79-80″ wide. Any wider and they’d need clearance lights.
Could be the real thing- a raw-steel article left to its own devices will develop a pretty consistent oxide surface. See it all the time on old agricultural stuff.
At first I thought the last gold full-body repaint had included the originally (white) painted front bumper until I got to the closeup’s “Oops, all surface rust!” look.
Strange that the bumper is so badly rusted, but the carriage bolts used to mount the bumper look almost new.
Stainless bumper bolts.
Cheap aftermarket bumper. And YES Mark Reimer; the new full size trucks have gotten Way too big the last couple generations!
Thanks for your agreement with me.
🙂
Unpainted, not-chromed bumper in the elements for a few years.
Real rust, but maybe not out in the elements for long. It seems to be a thing now:
https://www.instructables.com/Produce-a-Rich-Rust-Patina-on-Iron-and-Steel-Safe/
Looking at the close up, I’ve definitely seen “authentic” rust like that.
.
^ THIS ^ – I was going to comment yesterday about this stuff, but couldn’t remember the product.
Years ago, I painted a light switch cover with it.
I even took a picture. Hopefully Word Press will be kind and let me post it…
Oh, let’s try again… with a smaller size….
I’m with you Paul, it looks way to uniform to be natural. I would expect some variation where paint got scratched/worn off earlier than in other places as well as a general variation based on whether the surface was horizontal or vertical.
Might be fake rust, but I’m not so sure. Uneven rust patterns can be caused by varying exposure go the elements or partial compromise of the protective coating. Unprotected steel that is exposed to the elements in a uniform manner could end up looking like this.
When we store steel beams in the elements, the exposed surface rust is surprisingly uniform. Used rails are a prime example.
A bumper installed on the truck or that had any protective coating such as chrome or paint is unlikely to rust like this. A raw steel bumper stored outside with the exterior end facing the elements could probably look like this after a few years in the elements.
However it got that way, I like the result.
hydrogen peroxide [H2O2].
Cool model, I saw some photos on Oldcarbrochures who shows some differences between the 1969 and 1970 model years.
1969
http://www.oldcarbrochures.org/United%20States/GM%20Trucks%20and%20Vans/1969_Trucks_and_Vans/1969-Chevrolet-Pickups-Brochure/slides/1969_Chevrolet_Pickups-01.html
1970
http://www.oldcarbrochures.org/United%20States/GM%20Trucks%20and%20Vans/1970_Trucks-Vans/1970-Chevrolet-Pickups/slides/1970_Chevrolet_Pickups-01.html
I had a ’71 base model C10 short bed Fleetside. Loved the style, especially the dash. Last series with he gas tank in the cab. The big difference for ’71 was front disc brakes (power optional). 10 series 2WD models now had five larger lug hubs compared to the previous six, still on 4×4’s.
How did the surface feel? If it had actual pits of rust in it then it probably isn’t a coating.
It may have been treated with a corrosive/pickling agent to get such an even, um, (ruined) patina’d look.
I just saw someone posted hydrogen peroxide (not the home-use stuff). That’s a good guess.
Looks like real rust to me. The aftermarket rear bumper on my ’92 Nissan truck was headed in this direction, very thin factory paint that flaked off.
Like Jon in the previous comment, I had a Toyota trucklet with an optional painted steel back bumper. The truck was a dog (never bought another Toyota) so I traded it in for a GMC Jimmy. Before doing so I painted the steadily rusting bumper (similar to the bumper in Paul’s post) a lovely bright white which looked great with the red truck body. It fooled the GMC dealer who later asked if we could reconsider the deal. I don’t think so.