Frame Painter Recommendation(s)
 

After two months, I just got back the fork from my '59 Raleigh Tourist that I sent out to be painted. The company that did the work looked awfully good on paper, but I was a little disappointed in the final product, especially since it cost me about $150 (no pinstripes and no decals).

I was sort of "testing" this company and I'd give them a grade of "B" on their work. I would like to have the frame repainted with new pinstriping and exact replacment decals, but I don't think I'm going to go with these guys. Any suggestions?

TSapp

PS: I'm not very good at "rattle-can" painting.

I had Bilenky paint my Fuso. They also replaced the downtube. before and after pics HERE

http://bilenky.com/Home.html

I was just going to write Bilenky. I can help facilitate with them if needed.

My Sachs was done by Ed Litton and it's a fantastic repaint.

Check out Groovycycleworks.com Make sure you look at Rodys paint work in the gallery section.

I have used Cyclart and Joe Bell (both west coast) and they have both done OK. The pinstriping work you are doing seems to be a bit more detailed than what I had them do though.

I wrote Bilenky a few weeks ago when I was asking about a local painter. they must be very busy because I am still waiting for an answer.

Franklin Fames and Cycles just south of you in Newark OH. Franklin used to paint all of Bilenky's work until they got a booth. Top notch and fairly priced. You may be able to drive it to there and save the shipping. From what I understand it is better to contact him by phone. I own a Franklin and can tell you first hand that his work is first class.

http://home.windstream.net/franklinframe/frame.html
7179 Reform Rd
Newark, OH 43055
(740) 763-3838

Look no further than Chris Kvale.

http://www.chriskvalecycles.com/CKC/..._Painting.html

Check out the refinish work on framesets he has featured.

......and I just took delivery of a gorgeous new to me Kvale Sport Tourer frameset this morning!

Had to drive to Western Wisconsin, but it was worth every bit of the early ride.

I'm a big fan of Joe Bell's work and I've also used Matt Assenmacher when I needed frame work/repair in addition to the paint and have been satisfied with both quality of his work and a price which is much more reasonable than a quote for just a repaint from Chris Kvale, although his work is very nice.

David Cheakas at Southwest Frame Works. Check out his work. Good stuff.

http://www.southwestframeworks.com/home%20page.htm

They took two months to paint just your fork and charged you $150? Yowza!

Neal

Newark OH?? is there a rail to trail bike trail near there?

I like the single non-bike picture in there where some guy is just standing in a hat and overalls. lol?

I wear the hat to keep from blinding people in the sunlight.

Only top shelf from this icon. Chris Kvale that is. Haven't priced others outside the area, as we have a few "A" grade painters here in the Twin Cities.

When my De Rosas need help someday, I'll hope he's interested in helping me.

Plus, I can drive to his studio in 14 minutes!

By the way, if you haven't had an opportunity to see his lugwork, seek a frame of his when given the chance.

I'm smitten by the frameset I picked up this morning.

I second that emotion re Franklin Frames. Recommended. Not that far from Toledo.

My LBS owner asked me to manage the restoration of a mid 80s TS Issac frame/fork he inherited from an old client who passed away. The frame was mechanically sound but had endured some long, hard use. It was cosmetically on weak legs with some serious surface rust and paint/decal loss.

I talked it over pretty thoroughly with Jack at Franklin and decided to give him the work. Long story short he did a first class job with reproducing the one-off and pretty complex decals, as well as frame prep work in eliminating the rust without metal loss.

The paint work is just excellent. Two sanded primer coats to fill all imperfections, two color coats and two or three coats of clear for his standard pricing. Oh, and contrasting color fills in lug cutouts.

Shipping both ways, one-off decal repro and application as well as 6/7 spray coats for under $500. He even faced and chased everything gratis. Turn around time was about 9-10 weeks. 6 weeks of that was consumed by his decal maker getting the art set-up just right and production scheduled and accomplished.

Jack is a man of few words but if you give him his room to work he will not disappoint. I'm going back to him on a frame of my own soon.

Before and after pics on the Issac frame/fork are coming soon.

J

How much do these builders charge for a typical repaint with a few original style decals? For comparison reasons...