I want to make the paint on my VW bus look old and faded. Like this:

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/pix/506597.jpg

I want to give my bus a patina feel. It currently has a new (but bad)
paint job. I could park it the Arizona desert for 20 yrs but:

a) I live in England
b) I want instant results

So I want to find out how to treat the paint, using acids, sandpaper 
or whatever technique you can unearth to give it an authentic aged
look in very little time.

---

Clarification of Question by ambid-ga on 21 Dec 2004 08:49 PST

I guess I should point out that the tools and techniques need to be
accessible to an average bloke doing the job at home. No specialist
tools or chemcials.

Why not buy the truck for $500, and put the body on your chassis?

Thanks for the idea.

That isn't actually the same sort of bus - mine is a panel van.
However it is a good suggestion but most old buses with original
paintwork also have lots of rust.  My bus has no rust but no
character.

Plus it is quite a job separating a bus body from the chassis - a lot
of angle grinding and then a lot of welding.

Must be easier to artificially age the paint. I hope!

As original questions go, this is pretty original :-)

First notion, move up here to Scotland for six months -- the climate
tarnishes gold!

How about a can of spray paint which doesn?t quite match. A few light
squirts from a couple of feet away here and there and perhaps some
grey primer too. Apply an American screwdriver (hammer) to some panels
then finish off with an all-over matt varnish spray. Preferably indoor
polyurethane because even English UV will rapidly enhance the faded,
floury, flaky look.

I have found that some solvents can bloom some paints. Try a test of
brake and clutch cleaner spray (which is really vicious) and see what
it ends up like. If it merely softens the surface, throw some talcum
powder on it.

Best