Classic & Vintage - Should I get my Bianchi repainted?

Several years ago I purchased this 1983 Bianchi from a seller in Switzerland. I'm not sure of the exact model except it has a "specialissima" decal on the left chain stay. It has a few discolored spots, a few rust specks, and a few spots were there is bare metal. The bike came with a Campagnolo 50th Anniversary gruppo which has seen some use.

I was thinking about getting it repainted with the existing decals put back on, including the Columbus frame and fork decals. I'm thinking of keeping it as good as possible and stopping any deterioration. I want to extend it's life.

What do you think?

http://kjun.smugmug.com/Bicycles/Bianchi/1983-Bianchi-Specialissima/i-q5m2W6t/0/L/IMG0226-L.jpg
http://kjun.smugmug.com/Bicycles/Bianchi/1983-Bianchi-Specialissima/i-JtHF3R7/0/L/IMG0235-L.jpg
http://kjun.smugmug.com/Bicycles/Bianchi/1983-Bianchi-Specialissima/i-P3hPNz2/0/L/IMG0232-L.jpg
http://kjun.smugmug.com/Bicycles/Bianchi/1983-Bianchi-Specialissima/i-JWG9csR/0/L/IMG0236-L.jpg
http://kjun.smugmug.com/Bicycles/Bianchi/1983-Bianchi-Specialissima/i-Mb36Psc/0/L/IMG0238-L.jpg
http://kjun.smugmug.com/Bicycles/Bianchi/1983-Bianchi-Specialissima/i-9TKgFzG/0/L/IMG0237-L.jpg

Hard to say without seeing a pic or two (or three...)



[edit: apparantly I cannot see pics while using my browser at work.. grrr]

Looks like an '83 Super Leggera.

I wouldn't ever repaint an original bike in that condition. You can clean, lube, adjust and ride it!!

Looks good as is. All you need is some touch-up paint , maybe sand the rust off, and prime the bare spots. You've got years before it needs a repaint.

There's no way I would consider re-painting that bike as shown. Not even close. Just wax it and ride it.

I would say absolutely not but that is only my opinion. The amount of $$$ you will spend for a quality repaint and the amount that the value of the bike will depreciate by removing the original paint does not make sense. Keep it as is, clean it and polish it well and consider the minor blemishes to be a nice "patina". All that being said, it's your bike so do as you please. If it were mine I'd enjoy it in its current condition.

Today must be "repaint a perfectly fine bike" day.

Are you crazy?

Paint is better than most , perhaps any , of my bikes.

Nothing wrong with the paint on your bike - I'd suggest you clean it and wax it, then ride it. Even with a repaint small nicks and scratches are almost inevitable - and it's only original once. Maybe get a small brush and a tin of matching paint (probably have to get that made up at a paint shop) and touch in the blemishes - or just coat them with clear nail polish to keep the water off any bare metal. Just my opinion, it's your bike - and it's a beauty!

The paint on that bike is fantastic. Go down to your local autobody place and get Turtlewax ColorBack or Magic Scratch & Sniff (whatever it's called) and get some lustre back.

Drew the frame, repaint and install a SA AW. I can't think of a more appropriate treatment for that bike.

Yes, a nice Miami Vice purple and pink pastel fade job will do......
Are you nuts?? People will kill for a C&V bike in that condition! :eek:
Admit it, I think this thread of yours is just an excuse to post pics of your beautiful bike and make us drool!:rolleyes:....50th anniversary group and all.....:rolleyes:

Chombi

Here some not so good pictures showing examples trouble spots.

http://kjun.smugmug.com/Bicycles/Bianchi/1983-Bianchi-Specialissima/i-JqC4Dvv/0/L/IMG0582-L.jpg

http://kjun.smugmug.com/Bicycles/Bianchi/1983-Bianchi-Specialissima/i-ZZrSVtn/0/L/IMG0588-L.jpg

http://kjun.smugmug.com/Bicycles/Bianchi/1983-Bianchi-Specialissima/i-556P9pw/0/L/IMG0583-L.jpg

http://kjun.smugmug.com/Bicycles/Bianchi/1983-Bianchi-Specialissima/i-PCs3kLV/0/L/IMG0585-L.jpg

Yes, a nice Miami Vice purple and pink pastel fade job will do......
Are you nuts?? People will kill for a C&V bike in that condition! :eek:
Admit it, I think this thread of yours is just an excuse to post pics of your beautiful bike and make us drool!:rolleyes:....50th anniversary group and all.....:rolleyes:

Chombi

I'm telling you, if he follows my advice, he can sell that 50th anniversary campy group and buy a new house or something like that. :P

I'm not fishing for compliments and I'm sure I posted photos of this bike elsewhere.

What is going through my head is the voice of a potential, future buyer, pointing out these spots using them to try to get it for a substantially lower price. Hence the question.

Recently I got my Richard Sachs back from a repaint and it looked better than new. So why not the Bianchi? Just at thought.

Well If you ever want to sell it I'm looking for one. I would not buy one if I knew it was repainted and I would expect to pay less for a respray over any condition original, just my perspective/preference from a person looking at buying one.

All it needs is a nice wax, really.

I'm not fishing for compliments and I'm sure I posted photos of this bike elsewhere.

What is going through my head is the voice of a potential, future buyer, pointing out these spots using them to try to get it for a substantially lower price. Hence the question.

Recently I got my Richard Sachs back from a repaint and it looked better than new. So why not the Bianchi? Just at thought.

IMO, an original finish is always much better to collector's eyes than most repaints. Some call it age appropriate "patina". But I do understand your concern that might be asking what point is a repaint an appropriate thing to do on a C&V bike. I think most in this forum will think that your bike is quite far from that point. Of course, it your final decision on whether to do it though.
Remember, most "serious" collectors will question a repaint's accuracy more than worry about an original finish with a few nicks and scrathes, here and there, so you might not gain anything at all by repainting the bike at this time.

Chombi

To follow up my last comment...Have you ever watched the Antiques Roadshow? You know when these great looking pieces of furniture come in and the appraiser gets all excited, only to note that it has been refinished and instead of being worth $10K it's now only worth $750? Well...in my mind the same goes for vintage bikes, especially the higher end ones like you've got here. Respray = Less collectible = Lower value in most cases.

OP you would **** a brick if you saw my colnago up close, your bike is in excellent shape IMO

Repaint? How about just shooting yourself in the foot (you pick the foot)? Very special bike + money spent on repaint = much less special bike, that will never again be original...

Sometime I will talk to you about all the antique furniture I refinished 20 to 30 years ago. Spent serious $$ lowering the value of each piece by from 50% to 90%....... Yeah, that was stupid, and I now have my own sign....

look totally acceptable from my point of view !!!
ENJOY !

I'd grab a little Celeste touch up from BianchiUSA. That bike is original and gorgeous-no need to lose the original!

+1 to what everyone else said. A future buyer, looking at a respray, will assume you had it done because the bike was in much worse shape than it is. I think most would prefer the bike in original paint, even if it's their intention to refinish it.

Everybody is right about resale value. So if that's a concern, don't do it.

But if this is your "keeper" and you really like riding it and looking at it, then a high quality repaint is perfectly acceptable. (The accent, BTW, is on "high quality", like JB or Cyclart, as opposed to the neighborhood Earl Scheib.) It's not as though the cycling world is losing something rare and valuable if you repaint it. It's a very nice bike, but Fausto never rode it and the Madonna del Ghisallo probably isn't interested...

same here! ! !


Well If you ever want to sell it I'm looking for one. I would not buy one if I knew it was repainted and I would expect to pay less for a respray over any condition original, just my perspective/preference from a person looking at buying one.

WOW!!! OMG that is BEAUTIFUL!

I don't see why you want to paint it. is there some rust or something I do not see? if that were mine I would tear it down to a bare frame, and put a real good coat of paste turtle wax on it. clean every part and rebuild it.

Harsh reality. patina over resto. I'll trade ya shiny Shimano 105 group for a tarnished campy group. ha naw. Sharp ride. Do what ya please.

If it looks great from 10ft away, DO NOT PAINT IT. If it looks great from 30ft away, DO NOT PAINT IT. If it looks great from 50ft away, DO NOT PAINT IT.

Some bikes need painting. Yours isn't one of them.

What is going through my head is the voice of a potential, future buyer, pointing out these spots using them to try to get it for a substantially lower price. Hence the question.

Do not worry about that. Any collector will want the original paint and art. And believe me, a collector will buy the bicycle, for a good price, is you market it properly.

The temptation to repaint is always high with any old bicycle, and many newcomers fall prey to that temptation, only to learn later that they made an irreversible mistake. You might want to spend a bit of time browsing through Should I Paint My Bicycle? (http://www.mytenspeeds.com/My_TenSpeeds_1/Site%20Contents/How_To_Do_It/PAINT_OR_NOT/PAINT_OR_NOT_1_Start.htm) That information might help you understand the problems with a repaint and might also help you learn to appreciate a vintage bicycle's patina of age.

I do hope that you do not repaint that lovely old, original, high end and highly collectable vintage road bicycle. It is, of course, your bicycle and you are the one who needs to be satisfied. But I do hope that the members here have helped you consider your options.

I would repaint the pump.

I had a nice long post about my reasoning. I moved the mouse and the web page went back to the previous page I was viewing and PUFF, it was gone. So rather than try to retype it, here is the bottom line.

Thank you all for your replies. All were helpful and appreciated. Will I repaint it? No.

And yes the pump needs help.

Thank You for keeping that bike beautiful .

Yes original paint in good condition is a BIG plus in the value of the bike. even some minor problem spots are acceptable in the overall and do not make a very big negative in the value of a bike. Due everything you can to try to preserve it as is.

Multiple areas of rust particularity if it has pitted the metal and has the potential to get worse in very visible areas is a BIG negative. When the positive of original paint is canceled out by the negative of wide spread problems that may become structural if not addressed you may be better off with a repaint. You are going to have to decide if you are there.

I have a OpusIII that has multiple area that need addressing and some of the problems are so bad I really wonder if the bike may need a new top tube brazed in. Posting it here I get these same reactions about repainting.

It is very hard to get paint problems to show in pictures for people to get a true feeling for how wide spread and how large of areas are involved. It is very hard to get a touch up to look good particualy around braze ons and in nooks and crannies. Even when you can prep the surface properly its very hard to get the paint to match exactly when you are dealing with a 30 year old bike. In the right light you will see the touch up.

If you feel the damage is that wide spread and have found a painter that you can verify (and I mean older paint jobs they have done not what they did last week) they do paint work that you find acceptable, can find the decals to make it look right and good with the price I'd say go for it.

I had a nice long post about my reasoning. I moved the mouse and the web page went back to the previous page I was viewing and PUFF, it was gone. So rather than try to retype it, here is the bottom line.

Thank you all for your replies. All were helpful and appreciated. Will I repaint it? No.

And yes the pump needs help.


Excellent decision!! now you have $500 or so to spend on another N+1 bike ;) LOL

Where are these collectors? What I see are people looking to get something for nothing. The “what its worth” section is full or discussion about free to $200. I have never seen a discussion of a bike for $2,000. Look on ebay and you will see plenty of $1,000 to $2,500 bikes with no bids. Once in a while you do see a pristine, near new looking vintage/classic like a $4,000 Poliaghi a few months back.

People seem to spend for that NOS, NIB, pristine, near new looking bike and components. Rarely do I see people buying, biding, or talking about a nice classic with patina for anything north of $1,000. The something for nothing crowd is peppered with people who want it cheap in order to flip it and make a good profit. That’s okay but it does nothing to preserve that nice old bike with character. A flipper is not a collector.

I have a 1980 Cinelli that has faded paint and few scratches and some miniscule rust specks that I look after. It’s posted elsewhere on this forum. I would never refinish that Cinelli. I probably won’t sell it either. I have a 1974 Davidson that was near perfect until a freak occurrence resulted in a scratch. I won’t refinish that Davidson. I have a few others that I don’t consider candidates for refinishing. I recently had a 79 Richard Sachs repainted. It needed it and the frame was already modified. The mods were undone during the refinish process. That bike looks great. It’s value? Who cares. It’s a keeper.

But this Bianchi is different. The color, celeste, the only correct color for an Italian built Bianchi, the right amount of chrome in the right places, the 50th Anniversary Campagnolo gruppo, which the original owner installed and used (I think that was nuts) all begged to become new looking again. That’s why I asked the question. I knew that if I repainted I would not recoup that cost. I had to ask anyway.

Y’all set me straight and I will treat this Bianchi like that 1980 Cinelli and keep it as is.

Painting will lower the value, at least in my market.

Help move the economy forward and prevent a double dip recession, paint it.

Your original note said you wanted to paint the Bianchi so it would be worth more in resale, as if that was your only motivation. You probably aren't going to make up the cost of painting in the difference of a sale, and the consensus here is that you will actually sell it for less, not more. Whether a collector is willing to pay its value is immaterial, but people who appreciate C&V-type bikes would prefer it with its original paint. A general-use rider looking for a nice-looking utilitarian bike isn't going to pay that much for it anyway when other bikes are available.

So I see no motivation for re-painting it.

This has been an interesting thread, not eye opening, but nice to hear the opinions on vintage stuff. As a potential buyer I have been trying to piece together originality as much as I can figure and though pristine would be better, I really value the bikes that have a history and look like they have been used. There is a ex pro racers bike on ebay right now that is by no means original or in stellar shape, but it has history and it has a huge price tag. The only reason I wouldn't consider it is there is no provenance with the bike, just the word of the seller which is probably true, but value at those figures need to be backed for me. Now if the bike were about half the current price I would buy it w/o question because it is a cool machine.

Your original note said you wanted to paint the Bianchi so it would be worth more in resale, as if that was your only motivation.

I don't see that in my original post. Perhaps it was interpreted that way, but that was not what was posted nor it's intent. Preserving it and worried that I potential buyer would use it's current condition to low ball an offer is not "worth more in resale."

if you plan to sell it, it would seem a poor idea, financially. to have it repainted. OTOH if you intend to keep it and don't like it as is then have it painted.

I don't see that in my original post. Perhaps it was interpreted that way, but that was not what was posted nor it's intent.
Sorry, I was misremembering what I had read.
You wrote in a later note:

What is going through my head is the voice of a potential, future buyer, pointing out these spots using them to try to get it for a substantially lower price.
If you are concerned about preserving it, then by all means do so. But that doesn't require painting. (I'm looking at some spots on my Gran Sport which need attention. I'm going to do some spot cleaning and touch up.) Painting would have the effect eliminating all history of its rust and its use as well as preventing any further rust. But in general it would be better to prevent further rust without removing its history.

In any case, that bike looks great!

Thanks

FWIW I still don't think you should paint it. I have seen much worse for wear bikes being offered for sale for way too much money and sometimes they get it (I think is weird but hey its a free market right?)

I do think the used/classic/vintage/collector bike market is so fickle or volatile that while a bike like yours in original condition may languish on ebay for a few months at say $1000 a lower model with a lousy repaint and incorrect decals may sell for $2000 simply because it catches somebodys bike lust on that day.

I have a livingroom full of (yes livingroom) Bianchis and some other bikes that I feel are worth $XXX but I do understand that realistically they may only sell for $ZZZ. Personally I am still waiting for the C&V bubble to burst so I can snatch up this nice Royce Union I have had my eye on for a song.

I asked the same question about my Colnago even in this condition and got the same answer set.
http://s985.photobucket.com/albums/ae332/SJX426/1983%20Colnago%20Superissimo/Scratches/

I've seen this bike in person and it is beautiful as is!

As others have suggested, the best option is to take it apart, clean and polish everything, and put it back together with new cables, tires, and brake pads. Let me know if you would like some help with the project. I'm doing the same thing with a couple of bikes that you may be familiar with... :)

Texbike

do you have OCD or something?

Can anyone tell me about the Nisi HR22 rims that are on the bike? I guess I should keep them on there. I have a set of Campagnolo Munchen 72 and Montreal 76 model rims, never been built. Maybe I should or should not use these rims.

I do plan on cleaning up the bike, brighten the components, get rid of road grime and oxidation.

textbike, good to see you on this web site. I do have a set of Vittoria Open Corsa EVO SC, gum wall, 700x23, coming. I prefer 700x25 but I don't see those model Vittoria's in that size and a true 700x25 is about as fat as I get get between the chain stays.