Seems a lot of people have figured out that if they opt out of the smooth sheet metal and shiny paint it will keep at least ten grand in their billfold. Truck has 400 hp V8, auto, power brakes/steering, ifs, and 4 link coil over Explorer disc brake rear. He wanted the gloss clear but most chose the flat. Rusted panels were replaced with sheet metal pop riveted in place, no after market anything. The windshield and rear glass are sealed with roofing cement.
Then there are some of us who like to save$, get the smooth(ish) metal, and paint it ourselves. To each their own, however. I've even seen patina (yes, I'll continue to rust away on you) trucks on S10 frames.
Having recently had my wallet vacuumed-out for a nice conventional paint job, it seems like getting high-labor content paint jobs is one of the most expensive aspects of our hobby. While it isn't my personal preference, patina finishes' popularity opens the door wider for more people to participate in the hobby and I think that's a good thing. I'm not a fan of the 'faux patina' finishes, but if I came across a nice patina truck as a project, I'd be very tempted to preserve it. There's a truck around here that shows up at Goodguys with a patina paint job, and the first time I looked at it I was convinced it was real patina. A friend who's an artist and does a lot of airbrush work for the custom motorcycle and sandcar crowd says there's a painter in town that specializes in them. I imagine a patina paint job good enough to fool you would cost just as much in touch labor as a traditional two-stage paint job. Patina or no, I always enjoy looking at other folks' trucks as an expression of their creativity and how they solve problems in their builds. There's room for everybody. With the high cost of labor, materials and facilities to do conventional paint jobs, I think the patina trend will be here for awhile.
