In those days, before health and safety regulations were prominent, the Harrow Motor Body Works car painter would get covered in paint dust, turning his hair white.
After 50 years working for the Dunedin business, he still gets teased about his age.
"I’m almost bald now and sometimes the boys pretend to give me an old school cut and polish to make my head all shiny like a car."
When he officially retired yesterday, the 68-year-old said he would miss the high jinks and banter.
"It doesn’t feel like I’ve been here for 50 years. It’s gone very quickly.
"Most of the guys that are here have been here for a long time because we work so well together."
Mr Gordon said a lot had changed in the business since his early days of car painting.
The paint system from 1974 when he first started, was "just the old standard Duco", but now it was all two-pot and water-based.
"The paint finish now is totally different — it’s like glass. You can see your reflection in it.
"By comparison, the stuff in the old days, you had to cut and polish it after it was painted, and it would still look like a piece of coloured sandpaper.
"It was pretty dusty, and we had to rub down with turps at the end of each day to get rid of the paint splatters.
"It was pretty hard to get paint freckles off the face.
"It’s much cleaner now than when I first started."
Mr Gordon said he was now looking forward to retirement and starting "a new chapter" in his life.
"Everyone reaches a point where they find it’s time for another session of their life."
He said he was still fit as a fiddle and wanted to make the most of his health in his twilight years.
He planned to play a lot more bowls, walk his dog and spend more time with his wife.
Surprisingly, he said he did not have any personal car projects that he wanted to work on.
"I was very much a Monday to Friday man. That was the only time I worked on cars. Once I left the building, that was it."
So, a special message for Mr Gordon’s bowling friends:
"I’m retired. So don’t bother asking me if I’ll do a perk painting job."
