Don't discount powdercoating. Whether its paint or powdercoat, the finish is only as good as the prep work done before the coating material was applied. Make sure the coater blasts off all the old coating and preps the bare metal before shooting it, and that they have experience with stuff that has odd angles (like the tight angles at the BB of a bicycle frame ). I've had a few bikes powdercoated and they turned out great and about 1/3 the price of painting. The attached pics are of a Schiwnn LeTour II I had powdercoated a few years ago due to its pretty beat-up paint job (it ran great, just looked like crap). Its still still looking good after serving as a year-round daily commuter. This was a basic job (no clearcoat, special additives).
FWIW: The refinishing decision varies depending on what I plan to do with a bike. If I had a bike I was going to keep and ride myself, and it had a crummy paint job, I'd get it refinished the next time I disassembled it for servicing. If it was a true vintage/collectors bike that I got for cheap and was just going to flip, I'd just clean it up, adjust everything, and post it 'for sale' since (as mentioned previously) collectors like 'em in original condition.

I hear you and I got an idea for you.

is the paint a solid? no metallic?

long time ago I worked in a car repar shop, and the painter had a few tricks up his sleeve.

There was a Blue on a BMW that was a dead match every time he shot it,
one time a car came in that was keyed down the side- insurance paid to repaint the side.

with a brush, he filled and baked that scratch several times, then he wetsanded it and buffed it-it was amazing.

the problem is paint dont stick to chrome very well!
If you go first to a paint supply store, take your fork with you, and look for the best match you can.
you can ask the shop if they are willing to work with you to get a small tin of paint that will be a dead match to your bike.
buy the paint and fill the chips with a brush and then wetsand and hand polish.
you might get lucky.

I have a late 80's Bianchi Strada LX that I purchased for $150. Some might consider it classic, some might consider it vintage, I consider it a nice, new-to-me my-only road bike that I'd like to enjoy riding on centuries and other rides. It has some cosmetic deterioration as a result of 20yrs in a garage that I'd like to clean up but, because I don't consider it to be a classic or vintage, my clean-up needs are just for my personal desires.

Some of the decals are scratched and partly torn up but I know I can get replacements from "that guy on eBay".

It is black with some scratches and a little bit of rust showing in a couple of places. I'll use the OA treatment to clean up the rust. I'd also like to put an overcoat of paint on it, black of course. I'll remove the decals, take the parts of the bike so I have just a frame and fork (or maybe I'll keep the fork on and just mask the chrome bits).

Do I need to prepare the existing paint such as with a brill-o pad or with primer?

After painting, I'll put the new decals on it, could I overcoat them with a clear coat (over the whole bike, not just the decal areas)?

I wish there was a sticky that covered all this. I went to randyjawa's web site and although he talked about whether or not to paint and spray-bomb vs paint shop, I didn't find much in the way of DIY painting procedures.

Depends on how bad the paint and decals are and whether or not the bike is rusting inside or outside, and how much your willing to spend to restore it. It's very difficult today to find a bike made in the 50's or 60's or even 70's that is in great shape and doesn't need any restoring. For a true collector a bike with the original paint, decals, and components is generally worth more then one that has been restored to look new, but the biggest set back to value is non original components. It's easier to understand the paint didn't last, but it's not so easy to understand why the original components were stripped off and replaced with typically lower end stuff, or even if replaced with better stuff, it's about the originality.

If you're going to keep the bike and want different components on it then fine, but keep the original components. On that note, most bike collectors also want to see a restored bike painted the same color as original. Again though if you have no intentions on ever selling it then that's not big deal since you're the one who wants the different color.

Generally speaking, if it's just a touch-up, a quick scuff of the paint should be sufficient. One thing I never suggest on a vintage bike is powdercoat. Stay away from it at all cost.

Actually, black is its original colour, I just want a fresher look to it.

puchfinnland: Thanks for your reply. I will consider your recommendations. The decals are peeling too. I have decided not to replace componants except those that are not original. I just need three at this point, seat post, freewheel, and pedals. My suspision is that this may have been a frame up build out of Colorado based on the sticker.

I purchased a Trek 610 that was drewed and rattle-canned. It is now stripped of all paint, with replacement of the drewed parts brazed on + a few others. I am not going to repaint the same color, but will use most of the replacement decals. I don't feel bad about this as it is not a restoration to its as sold state but restoration to a great bike with some additions and most componants replaced.

What about a partial repaint w/ replacement decals ( to replace the missing frame tubing transfers , etc.)?
What about altering the paint scheme to mimic another model or era's style from the same manufacturer?

Powder coat or spray, in my experience the new paint is not ever as durable as the original paint. Unless it is done by a highly skilled professional who takes great pride in his/her work, chances are it won't look as good either.

Old bikes with new paint can look good but I am not ever as impressed as I am with a good looking old bike with original paint. Of the bikes I have repainted, I have always regretted it later.

I bought one bike that had been repainted, but I won't ever, ever, ever buy another that doesn't have original paint because you can not ever be sure what is underneath.

A friend sent his back to the Factory to be repainted... thats got credibility written all over it!

Full Story here (a nice write-up of the restoration and more detailed photos of the fantastic bike): https://cyclingart.blogspot.com/2011/...-marinoni.html

BEFORE PHOTO:



AFTER PHOTO:

I've been riding frames I built for the last 36 years or so. In all that time I think I've only re-sprayed one of them, and that was to change the color.
My oldest frame at the moment is from 1996, still on original paint.
I don't think I mind the patina minor scuffs so much since they're MY scuffs. Most remind me of the rides they happened on and the people on those rides. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't appreciate someone else's patina on a bike I owned.
However, paint is there to protect a steel frame and if it's compromised it should be repaired if the bike is to be actually ridden. You can do a whole lot of touch up and repair and still preserve an original paint job. And the option of a full repaint is always there.
And as was mentioned earlier, IMO a bike with real historical value and provenance should stay in it's original coat of paint.

Sorry, I meant IF you wanted a different color, I should have wrote if.

Not all new paint jobs look bad. There are several well known bicycle painters that will make it look even better then original, people like Joe Bell, Cycle Arts, Bryan Baylis, Air Glow, Joe Vasquez, and others, problem is those real good painters will cost you around $600 not including decals or rechroming or any frame repairs. I believe if you have a Paramount and some other brands Waterford will refinish and repair those bikes.

I agree with others that a bike with real historical value and provenance should stay in it's original coat of paint. Those bikes are usually for collectors and will probably never be ridden. My bikes are for me so I prefer them to look nice. If the original paint is in good shape and there are no problems with rust then I see no reason to repaint. On the other hand if the paint is in bad condition and looks like crap ( also increasing probable rust issues) then a repaint is in order for me.

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]https://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!

Beautiful job Stuart! Perhaps my International should be shipped to you for its painting! Who did or how was the head badge re-enameled?

I've done a couple rattlecan numbers on dept. store bikes and I found the process enjoyable. It's possible to do beautiful work with basic tools but often times it's not as durable as powder and 2-part paints. There's one bicycle painter in Toronto but even a basic solid colour job is close to 400$ with tax. I can get a frame powdercoated for 140 and that's their minimum charge so doing a few frames the same colour could likely even spend less money per frame. The finish isn't a match for high quality paint but I can't bring myself to double the money I put into this bike just for paint on a touring bike.

Here's an '87 miyata i picked up:


gussied up with powdercoat and a 1989 paint job:


I like the Marinoni repaint up thread, especially because of the story... wear out paint and parts, have 'em changed. I've seen a lot of nicely repainted bicycles on here and in the co-op I volunteer at and they just don't catch my eye the way old finishes do. I think refinished vintage frames are a good home for all the neo-classical parts that are getting made today.

Most frames dont look too bad with a bit of patina but the process of breaking it down and restoring a bike you’ve had for some time is a satisfying one!

Repaint...repaint....REPAINT!

This is a 9 year old thread. Many of the original posters are no longer around. Let’s close this one. If there’s interest, start a new thread on the subject.