pstock

No surprise it was cheap.
but what suggestions for what I should do with it now?
the frame "seems" to be in sound shape. but cosmetically it is looking a little rough.
the problem with a Colnago is their fancy paint jobs.
suggestions.?
(and can anyone tell me what model this is?)

DMF 

Sell it on eBay with a "No returns accepted." policy.

garage sale GT

Aren't those striations in the first pic and the pic of the fork caused by bending?

pstock

probably. I asked in a separate post what those crackles were.
what does that mean re: integrity of the fork? (I was thinking of setting my wife up on this frame.....I can hear the jokes already.)

the forks "look" straight as a die. but I am sure someone will have something more intelligent to add to the fray than that.

Mr. Fly

The fluted tube and internal brake cable routing suggest that it is a Master Piu.

If it was my bike, I'll have it stripped, bead-blasted (watch for the thin tubing) and inspected for more heinous indicators of frame integrity failure. Finding none, I'll commission a monotone "wet" paintjob. I don't believe the cracked paint on the fork means anything as fork blades do flex and the fork being straight indicates that the yield point wasn't exceeded. If the paint is a bit thick and old, the paint will crack when the fork is flexed during normal use. This is, of course, conjecture on my part and you should get an expert opinion because a compromised fork is no fun (and sometimes deadly) when it breaks.

The fluted tube, BB shell, dropouts and the lugs cannot be mistaken for anything else so I don't think you'll have problems reselling it as a genuine Colnago even with a plain-jane paintjob. If you want something more aesthetically appealing, you can also spend a little more, get decals and paint it like the newer monotone Masters, with panels but without the chrome.

bkaapcke

Wall art for your workshop. bk

Torchy McFlux

They may be straight now, but paint doesn't do that unless the tube it's applied to has been bent pretty badly at some point in the past. Same goes for those big chips on the top and downtubes. A little rust around the cable ports or flaking around the front derailleur braze on are manageable, but that other stuff suggests structural damage.
That frame is a beauty though, so if I were you I'd source some correct replacement decals, send it to an experienced framebuilder for stripping, careful inspection, realignment, and a nice repaint.
It's ideal to keep the original paint, as many around here will tell you, but it's too badly damaged and may be a sign of worse problems underneath. If you plan on using it, I say do a complete restoration.

wrk101

+1 Frame has been crashed. I would look to have a professional inspect it before putting any money into it.

BCRider

Over the years I've seen lots of examples where the paint was more rigid than the metal or plastic under it and chipping and cracking such as you have all over the frame is typical of this sort of bond failure. Especially if it dates back to the early days of the low volitiles content water based paints that occured through the late 80 and well into the 90's. A LOT of those finishes had major issues with long term bonding to the substrates until they ironed out the issues.

With this being a steel frame, as suggested by the lugging and colour of the exposed metal, I'd say get the old paint removed and then have it re-finished in some manner that you want. Obviously it's well worth looking it over with a critical eye for any signs of issues while it's stripped down. In particular look for signs that the upper part of the fork legs are bent back and out of line with the steerer tube. That is always a sure sign that the bike ran into something bad at some point. But I suspect that all will be well as steel typically ages very gracefully if not run over by a truck. The sort of paint issues you're having are not consistent with an actual crash from what I'm seeing. Note that the paint crackles are on the REAR of the fork legs. The last spot they would be if the bike ran into something head on. Assuming it passes inspection I would build it back up without a second thought.