How to preserve real rust without losing actual rust look?
Hello.
TLDR: how to preserve real rust without losing actual rust look?
I don't know what to do. Im building rat bike and I want some parts totally rusted. I have managed to get perfect rust look and perfect orange color but I don't know how to preserve it so it doesn't smear on clothes and doesn't rust more when it gets rain. I've used hydrogen peroxide-vinegar-salt mix and rainwater on sandblasted metal. On internet car forums and YT I found that boiled linseed and laquer/varnish is most suggested. Only problem is that they totally change look and color. I have tried automotive 2K matte lacquer, water-based varnish, linseed oil, but they all make rust very dark (brown) and shiny (even ultra matte finish). Only thing that works at some level is drawing fixative from art store, but I know those are not very long lasting, especially in weather. Yet I have seen photos of rusted rat rods and even rust looked buildings. Are all those "fake" and actually painted in a way to look like rust? Or is it real rust that is not preserved and is "changing" over time? US has big rat rod culture, but Im from Europe, therefore I dont even know where to search or what to search. When I search rust preservation then I get opposite results. I have also asked from chatgpt to no avail. Maybe I did wrong with sandblasting and real rust. Maybe I should of "painted" rust on?
I added three photos - first is sandblasted parts, second is rusted part where I tried some methods and there you can see how linseed oil totally changes color, third photo is car from Latvia that has perfect color (I found more photos when I searched number, but nothing about owner).
One thing I wanted to try is to use paint gun from very far away, so only very fine already somewhat dried mist hits rusted surface. Are there any other solutions I haven't tried/found?
Cheers