I found another Centurion Semi Pro on the local FB marketplace and picked it up 2 nights ago. It will need the usual going through of all of the bearings ( all of the rotating parts are pretty stiff and gummed up). That should keep me busy on some of these long dark nights in the far Northwest.
The paint on this one has a lot of scuffs and scratches. I could touch up the cobalt blue color, but the frame is entirely chromed under the paint, so wondering how this might look stripped and polished?
It’s pretty much original with the exception of that funky seat. Stem and seatpost came right out despite both having been bottomed out before the bike got to me.
Opinions on touch-up vs strip and polish the frame? Suggestions on an appropriate saddle? Thanks!
A few photos:




Scratches galore

Nice bike , my vote is to touch up the paint . For the saddle a Selle . Supercorsa , Turbo , Rolls ?
https://sellesanmarco.com/saddles/bottega/

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congratulations on another very nice find!

chrome -

a big part of what makes it shiny is the polishing done before plating

there be precious little polishing post-plating can accomplish

when the manufacturer will be painting the frame they do no polish the areas which will be painted prior to plating

me two yen would be to not remove paint

shall look forward to following along

say hello to Cloris L. & Dee W.-S. for us the next time you see them gliding by in Cloris' antique white Jaguar


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Ok, 2 votes for touch up so far. I’ll keep an eye out for Cloris!

Not much needs to be done but clean up and make it yours. These are very nice bikes. I love the crank and Cyclone derailleurs. The glaring downside , and perhaps the only downside , is that saddle.

You are right about that saddle. It is going to get binned soon, or offered to the local shop who on occasion has a customer looking for something exactly like it!

Nice find! My first real road bike was the a Centurion Super Le mans, I really wanted the Semi Pro but it ws out of my budge. Enjoy.

In your place, I'd do everything within reason to save the original finish. But then, I'm a sucker for lug lining and pinstriping, and if you wanted to duplicate that in a refinish job it'd cost an arm and a leg.

SP
Newport OR

Nice pick up, I don't recall ever seeing those MKS Unique Royal pedals (I at some point would like to build a bike with as much SR Royal as possible lol). I would keep the paint and polish. I'm not into touch ups but if you can a match I don't see a reason not to.

I have seen a stripped semi-pro and it looked pretty decent. The chrome was not polished under the paint but it just ends up looking matte- which can actually be a good thing as the polished bits still stand out in contrast.

I think most people would say leave it but in person if it's all banged up...

That pinstriping is one of the biggest attractors for me on these models as well as the pro tour of the same era. The paint is mostly there. Wash, scratch-x polish, wax and some touch ups here and there if you feel the need.

I had a pearl yellow Semi Pro for a while. Great riding bike.

I'd overhaul yours, touch up the paint, and ride it.

Add a cool little decal here, and call it good.



Sure, use a liberal amount if scratch remover where it needs it. But too often, random paint filling can look far worse than a few battle scars of a beautiful vintage bike.

Hadn't seen this color before. Which year? Or is that a repaint with the same pinstriping added back?

In 1979 Centurion offered the Semi Pro in that Cobalt blue and that lovely yellow color. I think they produced far fewer of that color than the blue…

If it was my bike, I'd probably do as polymorphself suggests: wash, Scratch-X and wax. I would not bother with touching-up. (I, too, fear that touch-up attempts would look worse than the current patina, plus I'm not very good at it.) I have had multiple frames repainted, so I am certainly not morally opposed to doing so. But to my eye, that finish looks to be in satisfactory shape, it's a gorgeous color, pinstriping like that does not grow on trees, and the chrome plus a proper waxing should protect it.

But it is not my bike, and my opinion is worth exactly what you are paying for it.

I got to stop sending you $10

on closer inspection (on computer and not phone now) I agree I'd just clean it up. i once had the same frame, same color, and the paint is very thin... on purpose so that the chrome beneath gives in a luminous sheen. that would be very hard to replicate with touch ups- and the chips and damage don't look bad once the whole thing is shining.

I’m coming around to agree with your thinking on this: clean, wax, polish. The more I look at it, and the more cleanup, adjustment, and rebuilding of bearings I do the less I’m bothered by the scratches.
It’s starting to shape up! 👍🏼

Good call! It is very hard to “unpaint” a bike . You can always do something later. As Rich said ( Bikingshearer ), touch ups are hard to get just right without looking like …..touch ups. Just ride it and enjoy .

WAIT!! Ten dollars?! I’ve been overpaying!

How do you guys know I didn't send orcas island an invoice?

1979

No worries; the check is in the mail! 😄

very similar color to my first light weight bike , Kabuki Diamond Formula . I see that the drilled chain rings are standard….nice!