PAINTING HIS MASTERPIECE
Calgarian custom builds work space of his dreams for his many automotive projects
It was inevitable that Brett Patterson’s life would revolve around cars. His dad Bruce is an enthusiastic automotive hobbyist, and from an early age Brett worked alongside him restoring vehicles.
“We’d work on cars and go to all the swap meets,” Patterson says. “Cars and parts were a big part of my life.”
In 1998, Patterson got his first car, a 1968 Volkswagen Beetle. He was 12, and that air-cooled VW led him down a path of acquiring and fixing older and older Beetles, “The cooler ones,” Patterson says.
He also knew from an early age what he wanted to do for a living.
“Since I was a little kid I wanted to be a custom painter. I was constantly drawn to the older custom paint jobs — mostly those with flames.”
An auto-body painter by trade, Patterson is now a technical rep for a body shop supplier. And that’s a little ironic, because he has a penchant for original-paint vehicles when he can find them.
When he and his then fiance and now wife, Holly, were looking for a home, they wanted to find a 1950s or ’60s bungalow in Calgary with either a good garage, or the room to build a “great” garage. They found the latter and, in 2010, with help from friends and family, they erected a 34-by26-foot garage. It’s equipped with forced-air heat, 220-volt power and, most importantly for Patterson, an overhead door that opens into the backyard.
“I just like to work with the door open without entertaining the neighbourhood,” he says.
In the garage is a 1951 Ford pickup. It’s Patterson’s springto-fall daily driver. He’s also got a 1940 Ford two-door sedan, a 1960 Bel Air (that he restored, frameoff, for their wedding) and a 1960 VW Beetle. The Bel Air is apart again to bring it to the next level, with many pieces being sent out for chrome plating. A 1948 Triumph motorcycle that was his grandfather’s is in there, too.
“They’re all projects,” Patterson says. “The Bug is running and driving, but I’m going to splice in a sliding ragtop roof and then it’s ready for Holly to drive all summer. And the Bel Air is close. The 1940 Ford is an upcoming mechanical restoration.”
This is what we learned about Patterson, his tools and his workspace.
Q What tools are in your collection and where did they come from?
A A lot of my tools were acquired when I worked in body shops, off the Snap-on or Mac (Tools) trucks. A lot of my sockets and stuff are from Sears; I’d take my flyer-route and lawn-mowing money as a teen and go to Sears and buy tools. I always prided myself on having my own stuff. I do have some minor hand-medown tools from my grandfather and my dad, but one of my favourite “inherited” items is a 1962 Snap-on tool box. One of the guys I learned from in a body shop, Johnny B., bought it in the late 1960s, kept it and used it and then gave it to me when I was 18. It’s all beat up, but I have a sentimental attachment to it.
I have a SATAjet 2000 spray gun that was given to me by Doug Deniese; he taught me how to paint. That’s a special tool, and my first “real” paint gun.
There’s a Lincoln MIG welder, oxy/acetylene torches, and just about every air tool you’d need, powered by an upright threepiston compressor. I’ve just got a drill press and if I need something machined I mooch off a friend. I would like a mill or a lathe, but I’d have to move some stuff around to get it all to fit.
Q Which tool or tools do you use most often?
A My compressor is the most important piece in here; it’s the heart of the operation and powers most things, like the air sanders or the paint gun. But, it really depends on what I’m working on at the time. I really enjoy working with hand tools, such as wrenches and ratchets.
Q How did you learn to use the tools? Did you go to school, or did someone teach you?
A I watched my dad work with tools when I was little and learned the basics. While I was in high school I got a job at a body shop — that was all I ever wanted to do. They hired me to push a broom around but I showed a bit of knowledge and they appreciated that, so they had me sanding little parts and preparing larger parts for the painters. From there, I went to SAIT (Southern Alberta Institute of Technology) and took auto-body refinishing in 2006.
Q What’s the most important project in the garage right now?
A Getting the Bel Air back together, because it’s a sentimental car. It was a daily driver as a kind of beater. I was going to part it out, using the mechanical parts for a Nomad wagon, but Holly fell in love with the Bel Air. She convinced me to drive it as a primered, rusty car, and I sarcastically said I’d restore it for our wedding. I worked on it right up to the wedding day; it didn’t have all the trim on it, but it made it there and was a part of our special day.
Q Is there anyone else in the house or in your life interested in working in the garage?
A Holly will come out and lend a hand from time to time. She’s into pottery and her wheel is out here, too, and she’ll work on it while I’m working on a car. There’s no kiln here, but there’s a pottery studio nearby where she can fire the pottery. I usually spend a good part of Saturday in the garage, and some Sunday nights. Probably two or three weeknights, as well. I guess I’m actually out here quite often.