1956 Ford Customline

A 1956 Ford Customline came through Dragon Auto in Milpitas, CA paired with a 1969 Dodge Charger, both getting a permanent coat of Icon Rocklear on the same visit. Classics this age can be difficult to pull a glassy, modern depth out of, but the Customline holds a rich shine that looks sharper than most cars twice as new. The two tone teal and mint green is the part that really benefits, since the coating deepens both shades without flattening the line where they meet.

Fifties bodywork behaves nothing like a modern car under lights. The panels are large, gently domed and full of chrome interruptions, and the paint sits over steel that was never as flat as a stamping plant makes today. Instead of one long mirror reflection you get a series of soft, rolling ones across the hood and down the flank, which is why the elevated and side profile frames in this set do more work than a straight on shot would.

Icon Rocklear bonds into the clear coat instead of sitting on it as a layer that has to be stripped and redone, which is the reason it suits a car like this. Older paint is the most vulnerable to UV fade and dulling, and the coating resists both while keeping dirt and grime from getting embedded into the surface. It does not yellow, and it needs no waxing and no annual inspection to keep the depth it has here.

Seventeen photos, including the interior: the dashboard and steering wheel, and the dice hanging from the mirror. See the Charger's side of this same job on its own photoshoot page, or read more about Icon Rocklear.