Originally Posted by
bigbossman
Sure it is.
Say I had a mid 70's paramount, and I got sick of looking at the yellow paint. If I hand it over to Ed Litton or send it to Waterford and have them paint it blue and then re-decal it, it will still be worth what it was before the repaint. It's not a one-off, historically significant, or even especially rare or valuable in the grand scheme of things. I agree - there are plenty of bikes that should be refinished only as a last resort, but this isn't one of them.
I've seen enough Litton, Baylis, Bell, and Waterford refinished bike to satisfy myself.... they are masterfully done and will not hinder the sale of the frame they adorn. Maybe you wouldn't buy it - but I guarantee you there will be a market for them just the same, and with no loss of value.
To me the loss of value is straight forward. At best, the bike will retain its pre-repaint value. The owner has just lost the cost of the repaint.
Having collected antique furniture for almost 50 years now, some of my early decisions to refinish have come back to haunt me. I spent serious $$ on the refinish work, and in return, lowered the value of every piece by 50 to 75%. Now the lower end stuff does not get hurt too much on value. But any of the better stuff, ouch.
For me, if I got tired of a yellow Paramount, I would start shopping for a worthy replacement, and then sell my yellow bike. Done right, I would end up with a nice original bike, and only be out the cost of shipping and perhaps fleecebay fees.
A quick look at the Waterford price list shows a basic repaint with masking of lugs is $750. Add to that price shipping both ways. Not sure whether the repaint pricing includes decals, or just the installation of them. All in, probably pushing $900 or more. Myself, I can't afford a $900 hit.