just to bring closure to this discussion--and to thank all for their valuable perspectives--the De Rosa is boxed and ready to ship to Cycle Art in Vista CA, for a frame alignment check and a paint job. And given that I travel with backpacks and locks, and that I am inclined to be clumsy, and sometimes hitch up to stanchions where other bikers are not so careful--and mostly because I am somewhat of a cheapskate--it's going to be powder coated.

and that's really not the entire story--I'm into function first. I'm not trying to recreate the past so much as to experience a good steel framed ride. I actually think the original decals are a little doofy, too--except for the heart on the crown. That I would spring for.