Preserving Patina

Tom, I don't think the flood company ever intended their product as an end finish. All my early working years were in boatyards. Painters liked penetrol because the paint flowed better and produced an even gloss. There's another old painter's favorite. Japan dryer. Maybe mixing some of that would harden up the penetrol. I guess it's too late in your case, but maybe try wiping down a section of the sticky part with mineral spirits and testing some remixed potions. This hot weather we are having should get something cooking.
 
Gary, Thanks for your insight. The product has hardened but not sandpaper worthy. I left it outside the last few days to "Suntan" in our unseasonably nice weather and in fact it set up nicely. I have plenty of sheet metal from the dismantled shed to experiment with this summer. I have little to no knowledge of metal finishing. My knowledge of finish is exclusive to nitrocellulose laquer when I was restoring pianos. I am interested in investigating various finish options on metal. Not interested in opinions on right or wrong on finishing something with patina (Owner's choice, I like them all). Only interested in available options of a desired result with personal resources available. I have much research and experiments to do.
 
I used the german equivalent of penetrol (called Owatrol) on every part of my truck. It seeps deeply into the rust and ousts and replaces oxygen from all minute pores before becoming solid. This is a big bonus over clear coat in terms of metal preservation.


On the other hand, on a day out in the sun my hood still feels a little tacky again …. paited it last summer ……


So, my stuff never hardens completely. You could scrape it with your finger nail any time you wanted to. But anyway, as it collects and binds a little dust, the unsighty glossy shine goes away pretty quickly.
 
Penetrol won't last forever. Doesn't seem to darken things as much as linseed oil will.
It's ok. That's just my experience.
 
I can only imagine the amount of 's fish eyes" that will appear if, later on, the "motor oil" spray residue is still in the nooks and crannies when someone tries to paint the vehicle.


If I was to repaint a vehicle, I would strip it down. Blast it to clean metal then neutralize it. like normal. If you are doing a respray, I agree. But the same could be said about hidden rust under paint on a spray over. It would not last.


If i was "preserving" patina. Little oil would hurt very little. If you have bare metal give it a gibbs or ospho treatment from time to time. Clear over rust will only get worse, maybe a couple yrs of stopping oxygen getting to it. But it's limited.


.
 
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Penetrol won't last forever. Doesn't seem to darken things as much as linseed oil will.
It's ok. That's just my experience.

Interesting on the Linseed oil. In my unscientific YouTube searches on this subject was another video where they used it. It appeared it slightly darkened the surface with more of a Matte finish. As I recall it was something that had to be done regularly, as in patina maintenance. I do like the idea of a penetrant as opposed to a surface spray. I washed my chunk of metal shed pictured in post #1 with a nylon scrub brush and Dawn soap to remove the loose flakes and dirt. Grease buildup wasn't an issue. Update on the Penetrol as of today. It has now cured to hard surface and sandpaper worthy. It retains a high gloss with depth. My conclusion is: If one desires a gloss finish on patina without a high dollar clear coat from a body shop I would do it. I would wipe it on, not brush it and allow significant dry time between coats. Patience would pay off as it would take numerous coats with suitable dry time between. I'm interested in hearing of others who have achieved either a flat, matte or semi-gloss using a particular product.
 
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