Gee, I dunno. If by "value," you mean "how much a collector would pay for a vintage item today," I think it's a simple fact that for most handbuilt/manufactured items original finish is worth more $$$. I reckon if we were on a forum dedicated to vintage washing machines or farming tools, original finish would still be worth a premium. "Maytag never offered that model in pink in 1928, it has to be a respray!" Comfortable with the idea or not, I think that's the reality.
But if you define "value" as "intrinsic worth," a repainted doorstop is no less valuable a door stopper as one with original finish. They both function perfectly as doorstops. And if a freshly repainted one brings a bigger smile to your face, all the better. Just don't expect to get as much money for it if you decide to resell it.
I do agree that folks owning utilitarian items that were originally painted wouldn't think twice about repainting/refinishing them during a long service life. They didn't think anybody would pay good money for their cast iron doorstop, so if it started looking shabby and they had the time and means, why not repaint it? Bicycle manufacturers have offered repair and refinish services probably forever.
Originally Posted by
DavidW56
...I've never been completely comfortable with the idea that repainting a vintage object automatically, by definition, decreases its value. I am not speaking solely of C&V bicycles here, but any older item whose function was and is utilitarian first in importance, while style and design second or third....my wife has a cast iron doorstop in the shape of a Model T...The paint is chipped and dull. I thought we should remove it and repaint it black, but she objected, repeating the conventional wisdom that repainting it would diminish its value.
But I wonder whether the original owners of these utilitarian objects...might not have repainted the objects themselves when they were worn...Of course, the bicycle's peculiar nature...makes it far more likely to evoke such passionate response in its aficionados than other machines. Nobody would gets upset about repainting a vintage washing machine, say, or a wheelbarrow.