Originally Posted by
repechage
I think this statement might show the crux of the problem. A reasonable man would have sent images of the frame, maybe some initial and some follow on images to the painter before shipping it south of the border. And those images would be archived for reference if the job went sour.
Why, with Cyclart's reputation and what appears to be frank and honest discussion about what the OP wanted, what the bike was, and the condition it was in if Cyclart, as has been suggested, was just "too good" to work on this frame and do what the OP, er, paying customer wanted, they could have refused from the start. They knew the customer wanted to retain as much paint as possible and then try to talk him into a powdercoat? What kind of "craftsmanship" is that?