glorystomper

Hey gang,

Where would one go to get some help on original Bianchi decal restoration? I have heard mention of Ed Litton, but I was not able to reach him the last few times I attempted to contact him.

I've gone so far as to obtain reproduction decals from VeloCals and Cyclomondo, but neither of them were accurate with regards to the font, sizing, and colour (comparing them to what is actually on the Bianchi). CyclArt and Noah at Velocolour seem to have yet a different set of reproduction decals, but I haven't seen them in person to compare.

I've also purchased a set of NOS Bianchi decals from eBay last year, but those too were slightly bigger in sizing than what is on the bike

I'm stumped.. Does anyone have any leads to more original Specialissima decals or information on them?

Cheers

unworthy1

professional painters (and Ed certainly is one) can obtain decals from a company called SSSink (or close to that) who will only supply to "the trade". Might be that their decals are better than others for your particular frame, maybe not. Do you mention Litton because you're located close by his shop (East Bay Area)? There are a few other painters who might have access to SSSink decals in the area as well, and might be easier to talk to (Ed is always swamped and now appears to be working with Bruce Gordon on top of that).
If all else fails, you can have the artwork drawn that exactly matches your originals, then have a decal-printer make you a set (or more)...Velocals, Softley, and a few others in the UK can all act as just a printer using client-supplied art.

glorystomper

Thanks for the quick reply, unworthy1..

I wish I was in the East Bay Area cos I'd go look up Ed and bug the shazz outta him I'm up in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

I mentioned Ed only because I found information about him once working for Bianchi doing repairs etc.. figured maybe he had a stock of decals and might know a bit more of the history of the X-4..

Bianchigirll 

What year is your Bianchi? Velocals can't reproduce decals if you send him some good pics and measurments of the font? Depending on the year of you Bianchi who is to say how much uniformity there may have been from one batch of decals to the next anyway.

KonAaron Snake 

Velocals did a FANTASTIC job reproducing my Look decals...and he's just a super nice guy.

unworthy1

I know Ed has done a lot of warranty repair work over the years, and Bianchi's US headquarters was once just down the road in So.S.F. or Burlingame...someplace like that, and pretty close to Litton's shop. When he painted my Ciocc frame he had a catalog of decals on-hand, lots of brands, but it was many years back.
Another angle: you might call Bruce Gordon's shop in Petaluma...Bruce might just put him on the phone. 707-762-5601 (be warned: BG has a rep for being pretty crusty, but might just be a wicked sense of humor...I say just be polite, but you're Canadian, so it'll be natural )

bertinjim 

Glorystomper,

Talk to Noah at Velocolour and make some really good photos of your decals. He had custom decals made for my Bertin restoration and they were very good.

vjp

My vote is for Velocolour also.

As far as the decals go it seems to be the case for a lot of the suppliers, not quite accurate. Some people don't care, others, like me are kind of ocd about it.

mtree 

Velocals: I ordered some Trek decals in Feb via phone conversation; checked again in late March and am still waiting in late May. Is he still doing this work?