Only if you need to. This is the condition I received my 1966 Claud Butler 'Olympic Road' in. It was really cheap, otherwise the appearance would have had me looking for a different frame. I couldn't be sure of the extent of rust - especially at the rear of the top tube, so took all of the remaining paint off.





Thankfully, it was only on the surface under the paint and there wasn't much paint actually left to remove.



Hours of work, £20 total of primer, paint, thinners, lacquer using my low-pressure spray outfit and 'baking' each coat on a double radiator plus another £50 spent on genuine decals and here's the result:





Worth it? Definitely in this case - it's a super ride and I'd never have been able to buy this in this condition in my size for that amount of money. If it had been in better condition to start with - no way! It's only original once. But if original is a mess, why not?

Techniques - I remove every trace of original finish and smooth the metal surface with very fine waterproof aluminium oxide paper, used wet with soapy water, rinsing frequently. dry thoroughly and tack-rag any dust off. 'Dust' on light coats of primer, sand and recoat. Heat for days gently between coats.

[IMG]http://i623.photobucket.com/albums/tt314/StuartAgutter/1966%20Claud%20Butler%20Olympic%20Road
/1966%20Claud%20Butler%20Refurb%20in%20progress/Olympicbasecoat.jpg[/IMG]

Repeat the process for colour coats:



Apply decals and then clear coat:



Fit re-enamelled head badge and head set and start the build!