Ok, these are currently the one types of restorations that I am involved in.
#1. The bike is unrideable, e.g. :
a. mangled frame tube (not just a dent) b. front-end collision causes shimmy during ride c. rust spots every 1cm on the bike, threatening its long-term survival and drivetrain so rusted its unrideable
#2. Some dummy damaged the collector's value, not me.
a. Someone sprayed the frameset in flat blue b. Someone sprayed the frameset in flat black b. Someone overpolished (wore through) the chrome on focal points
#3. (now for the heresy) I got a bike in mediocre condition in manufacturer color X, and I've wanted one in manufacturer color Y all my life. Is it o.k. to do a brand spanking-new repaint if such bikes still exist in said condition ??
#4. (here's a stickler) I got a bike with a great frameset whose NOS parts are both impossible to find (zeus crankset) and are also junk (simplex drivetrain).
Can I repaint and restore it as a similar model from the same manufacturer in a similar era with all correct parts, still available? The resultant differences between my restoration and the real thing would be almost imperceptible.
- Don Gillies
San Diego, CA