Its never been waxed? I think thats an obvious first step...

To me the loss of value is straight forward. At best, the bike will retain its pre-repaint value. The owner has just lost the cost of the repaint.

Having collected antique furniture for almost 50 years now, some of my early decisions to refinish have come back to haunt me. I spent serious $$ on the refinish work, and in return, lowered the value of every piece by 50 to 75%. Now the lower end stuff does not get hurt too much on value. But any of the better stuff, ouch.

For me, if I got tired of a yellow Paramount, I would start shopping for a worthy replacement, and then sell my yellow bike. Done right, I would end up with a nice original bike, and only be out the cost of shipping and perhaps fleecebay fees.

A quick look at the Waterford price list shows a basic repaint with masking of lugs is $750. Add to that price shipping both ways. Not sure whether the repaint pricing includes decals, or just the installation of them. All in, probably pushing $900 or more. Myself, I can't afford a $900 hit.

That's what I was thinking, too. And the cost of the repaint (if done by a reputable painter) could easily be MORE than the value of the bike. So you could be into negative numbers when you do the math. However, I do see the value of a repainted bike if the owner wants to keep it and enjoy it.

In the big picture, there aren't that many people who look at old bikes as money-makers, or who care one bit about what an alteration would do to its value. Most people like shiny, unblemished bikes better than faded, scratched, and chipped ones. That's a reality sometimes overlooked in this subforurm I think. And for the record, I don't have a problem with that. It's one reason I like this place.

Apples and oranges. Two separate topics. But...... I see we agree.

Of course you will likely not recoup the cost of the repaint. That is not the same as devaluing the bike. That frame just will not be degraded in value by 50-75%, it just won't. This is a production bike we're talking about, not a singularly special one-off.

Again - I ask the question:

How much is this particular frame/fork worth as it sits? Now..... how much is it worth with a Waterford refinish? Give me some numbers, please. Tell me just how much of the value is lost.

$5.37.

Value before repaint = $517.18
Value after repaint = $511.81
Value lost = ($517.18 - $511.81) = $ 5.37


Jeez, do I have to explain everything to you?

Sez the guy that repaints just about everything he gets his hands on.....

Amazing. Those are the exact same numbers I came up with. So there, BBM, you have your numbers.

"Gentlemen, we've found the fellow who came up with the N+1 theory."

-Kurt

$900? I was thinking of charging her $100 plus parts for the whole thing.

I think I will recommend the clean and refurbish and she can look at new bikes.

Does the Paramount fit you? Maybe you should convince her to trade up.

Are you suggesting basic bikini-line, the Hitler moustache, or baby's butt bald?

I vote for landing strip.

Most of the older bikes are silk screened and lacquer paint both of become like water color and a tissue when hit with modern compounds .
Carefully with buffing.
If you must repaint don't use vinyl.
Use water transfers "decals" then clear coat.
Just my 2 cents worth.

But some good old knob polishing and wax can work magic first!

That didn't make much sense, but if it's what I think you're trying to say, the fragility of original silk screened decals will vary with every single example you'll come across.

Cases in point:I've had a near-mint '72 Schwinn Speedster with silkscreened downtube lettering that virtually polished off completely with the slightest single wipe over the top. However, I recently acquired a 1969 Schwinn Racer in nearly identical shape with the same downtube silkscreened decal - and have successfully rubbed the decal multiple times with very little loss of the decal's vibrancy.

There's no hard and fast rule to polishing silkscreened decals, other than to be careful. Try a small, inconspicuous spot and work from there as you see fit.

-Kurt

I'm here for the "knob polishing"...

Sorry, couldn't resist.

No apologies needed. With a set-up like that, you were morally obligated. And if you hadn't, someone else would have.

My guess, strictly based on my experience with non-bike and non C&V bike people, is that she mentioned the word 'paint' only to show that she's serious about having the job done right. I'm sure you can convince her that less is more. I wouldn't even jump to the conclusion that the bike needs new cables and housings and whatever else you mentioned; maybe it does, maybe it doesn't, and there's no point in speculating.

If that lady ever sees this thread, between the waxing jokes and the knob
polishing ones, you will be out of a job and may have to sell your house.

amen. plus it'll be worth less when she tries to sell it to you later.

When I was an apprentice mechanic in the 1980's we had a retired woman who always brought us her 1950's something American car for it's regular service. It was her only car and had been purchased new by her now deceased husband. She was very particular with the vehicle and we were never permitted to keep the vehicle for more than one day as she worried about it's security. Each appointment she'd type a detailed numbered list of everything she wanted done to the car. It was always always the same basic service "#1 oil change, #2 rotate tires, #3 adjust valves, #4 fill fluids" . . . etc.

One time, the final item on the list, #15 was . . . . "paint the car".