[CR]Paint Advice Needed

(Example: Framebuilding:Technology)

From: <BobHoveyGa@aol.com>
Date: Tue, 1 Nov 2005 17:28:26 EST
Subject: [CR]Paint Advice Needed
To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org


Rob;

With all due respect to Kim, owning a bike does indeed make it technically yours, but there is also an element of stewardship one should consider when contemplating a repaint. Not just in the interest of maintaining its monetary value (repainted bikes are seldom worth as much) but in the interest of future owners and bike afficionados who might never get to see the product of a particular builder if everyone decides to refurbish them to their own tastes.

You are the one who will probably have to make the ultimate decision, of whether the bike's paint is too far gone to save and if the bike's nice enough or rare enough to be worth your time saving it (paying a pro to touch up and preserve old paint while saving the original decals can sometimes be more expensive than a repaint, as a few folks on this list can probably tell you).

The more conservative listmembers will also probably tell you that they place a higher value on a bike that is original but less "pretty" (i.e., left alone, or the rust spots dabbed with a bit of touchup paint as many "non-collector" owners are prone to do in the course of a bike's lifetime) than one that has a specatacular repaint and reproduction decals.

Once a bike's structural and preservation needs are met (in other words, ensuring that your rust does not progress), it is much a matter of taste. Nobody passed a law saying a bike has to look like the photo in the catalog. Speaking for myself, I've found it has been surprisingly easy to get used to, and to even enjoy, the marks that the passing years leave on our vintage machines, whether it was I or a previous owner who put them there.

Bob Hovey Columbus, GA


>
> Hi Rob,
>
> if you're meaning to sell the bike; do what you want. It always depends on
> the price you will be asking if a buyer bites.
> If you want to keep the bike; do what you want, it's your's. It's not as if
> you ask your neighbor which pants to wear

>

> ride on,

> kim