There are some rat rods, for instance, that have patina that looks very cool, a nice matte paint job, no chrome, it works. No over restoration, just enough to make it look right. Sometimes they hardly restore at all, they just work with what they have, fixing what’s broke, modifying what isn’t until it all hangs together.

There is also what could be called an obviously fake patina, scuffed up to reflect worn paint then cleared over to keep it that way. If done right, that can look good, too. This might be what you were thinking of.

The fake I refer to is the fake that tries to look real. The work that tries to mimic real rust holes, dents and scratches right up to the point of creating real rust holes, dents and scratches. The antique furniture business is filled with that sort of thing, someone turns out a new table or chair then hits the wood with chains or other tools so it looks 100 years old, usually with the intent of misleading a buyer but sometimes just to mislead the person viewing it.

Perhaps each example needs to be looked at individually, but then, whether the builder carried it off well is in the eye of the beholder, some might smile and some might cringe. When you stop to think about it, the same thing happens when no patina is involved. We’ve all seen brand new builds that looked good to some and others just scratch their heads and wonder what the builder was thinking.

I’ll keep that in mind the next time I see an example of this and try to figure out what the intent was and how it comes off. Maybe I’ll strike up a conversation if I can find the builder around and see what they had in mind.

Otlman, thanks for the comment.