If you are a car enthusiast, you may fall into one of two categories; a classic custom and stock restoration person or someone that likes the rat rod origins of hot rodding. What is a rat rod? It is the car that you built in your garage with a mix of whatever parts you could fine. It may be a mutation of a sedan, pickup and motorcycle or anything else you can imagine. It can also be unfinished, primed and full of rust that adds character. If you want a car with an authentic rat rod look, here are some ideas to help give your project the look you want:

1. Be A Butcher And Chop Off Any Unnecessary Features

One of the best things about building a rat rod is that nothing has to be perfect. The more you take off and chop it up, the better it is going to look. Feel free to get out that old disk grinder and reciprocating saw and start butchering your ride. Consider doing things like chopping the top to lower the hot rod and give it a mean look. In addition, if you are doing some type of truck, make the bed a little shallower. Do you have fenders or wheel covers? Who needs those? Go ahead and chop them off to reduce weight and improve the look of your ride.

2. If It Has Paint, Scrub, Scratch And Rust It Off For An Authentic Look

Does your ride have paint on it? Paint may just be too shiny for your rat rod, so you can scratch it, scrub it and rust it. Use a sanding wheel to scrub off any paint, and then, repaint it with primer. A little rust can also help add to the look of your car. There are processes like magnesium chloride rusting that can be done to give your rat rod an authentic aged look. This may be something you want to do for any replacement parts that you have added and want to match the rest of the wear on original parts.

3. Make The Wheels And Tires Only Features Of Your Car That Shines

Most of your car may be primed and rusted for a worn garage-built look. If you want to add some shiny details to your car but still keep the authentic rat rod look, consider investing money on the wheels and tires. You can paint the wheels and suspension a color that matches and use white-wall tires to give your car that rat rod look, but with a hot rod feel. This is a good idea if you are spending money on performance.

These are some ideas that can help you give your car the look you want when it comes to rat rods. If the paint job on your car is just too polished, contact a service that does magnesium chloride rusting to give it that authentic aged look that give rat rods their personality.