CliffordK

True,
But I've seen some stunning photos of restorations.

I think a half century of heavy wear and tear on my bike would also deter any potential buyer. It is fine for my use, and still turns heads, but I certainly wouldn't buy it unless I was planning to repaint.

Still, it might be fun to do a classic ride on a bike that has obviously had continuous use for most of its life.

If I repaint now, by the time I'm ready to pass on the bike, it will have plenty of "aging" of the repaint.

noglider 

I'm currently painting a frame set. I think I may never want to do this again. It is so much work! And the results are not impressive.

CliffordK

I suppose a couple of questions I've had with a restoration.

A few upgrades I'd like to do on my Colnago Super would include downtube and seattube water bottle mounts, as well as internal cable routing on the top tube. I think a couple of simple updates would improve the bike substantially... but the true "collector" might view it as sacrilege. I'd probably braze-fill some of the dents at the same time too.

Not that I anticipate ever selling the old Colnago. Perhaps giving it away someday, but it may not ever be sold in my lifetime.

mechanicmatt

All the more reason to get a repaint. It would be the best time to modernize it in a couple ways if you wanted. A lot of bike related painters can do a quality job of some brazing, or can farm the work out for a nominal charge.

I think this is a very personal struggle, it took me 3 years to decide to take the plunge, and I was pretty happy with the results, especially over the state I acquired the frame in. I really wanted my frame to be somewhat true to the original but updated slightly. I haven't tried to resell the frame, but I took a bunch of pictures before and after to show why I did this in case anyone ever thought it was for the worse. I also could have spent the time to go through BG cycles, which admittedly may have turned out the highest of quality refurbishment but I didn't know if I even wanted to keep the frame. I chose what I chose and did what I did, and know that I did at least did save that frame for extended future use. If it turns out to be the bees knees once built then the next time it needs a respray, I may go a more thorough route.

I do think that painting is best left for the pros, but that is just really because I don't have the time to clean and figure it out.

Geez, can you tell I had a long internal dialogue for this at one time.

Bholio

I feel that the bike worked hard to get those scars, and they should remain. Its part of the history. I also don't have the patience to properly do the stripping, priming and painting and endless sanding involved in a good repaint.

That said, I usually try to to get the rust off the chrome when possible.

gomango

When they look like this,

[IMG]DSCN1344 by gomango1849, on Flickr[/IMG]

you may repaint them like this.

[IMG]Untitled by gomango1849, on Flickr[/IMG]

May be available btw.........

CliffordK

Those are some really odd looking clover leaves.

Also an odd placement of the chainstay decal.

Hopefully you didn't overpay for the frame.

Nice repaint.

gomango

Trust me, I never overpay.

As for the odd placement of decals, it isn't surprising.

It's a Gazelle.

Seabass_First

This is my prized possession...

Lately I haven't been riding it everyday and its been hanging up (dry and temp controlled) for about 2 years, when I looked at it the other day my "patina" has progress quite a bit with out my help...

I have been reluctant to paint it for 2 reasons... One: i really like the patina. Two: I worry that i'm going to find a dent or crack that reduce the "value" of the frame that I can't see in its current condition (dispute looking really carefully)

So I have been wire brushing it to get rid of the loose paint, and I want to treat it with something to slow the progression of the rust. I have a local powdercoater who will do a blast and one color for 100ish.. he is a bit heavy handed but a thick coat might be just what the doctor ordered for this frame. I have a lot of paint experience but i frames are really tricky to paint.

Questions:

1. to paint or not to paint: opinions?
2. If paint: Powdercoat or Rattle can?
3. What is a common treatment i can use slow the advancement of the rust?

Higher res: https://imgur.com/a/mtEXw

--- cool story about the origins of this frame: i was living in shanghai about 5 years during the rise of the "fixie" fad, a friend of mine was in Beijing and saw an older Chinese gentlemen riding this frame (too big for him) and it was set up like any old bike... complete with coaterbrakes, cruiser bars and a rack! this guy had been riding this around for groceries etc. for YEARS with no idea what it was... So my friend (a Chinese dude) pulled him over and asked him where he got it, the man said it was pulled out for the trash behind a beijing velodrome in the early 90s... my buddy offered the guy the equivalent of 400usd for the frame and the guy took the money on the spot... the frame was too big for my friend so i bought it for 500 off him not even knowing what a great deal i was getting... After looking on Ebay regularly i know that these track frames are pretty rare and even in this condition I could prolly get a tidy sum for it...

JDP526

I restored a formula ford car several years ago and I painted the tube frame in my driveway and it turned out great. I did have it soda-blasted to remove original paint and rust. Then I cleaned up a few additional rusty areas that the soda did not remove. After lightly sanding and cleaning the frame I sprayed it with a Binks Model 50 touch-up ***. I used PPG acrylic enamel using some generic hardener to increase the durability of paint.
Spraying is the easy part of process. Its the prep that takes so much time to do correctly.

YouthxCrew

I've bought many bikes with the intention of repainting them and then decided against it. My Raleigh has no decals, almost no paint on the NDS chainstay, a huge scrape on the drive side top tube and is covered with little rust spots and patches of faded paint. I think I almost like it better that way than if it were new.

I am repainting a Motobecane that has nice paint and decals only because I bought it with the intention of making it a poor-man's Team Champion





I did a quick test spray without sanding or primer on a bent fork and I think the color is close enough.

79pmooney

So a question for C & V. If I repaint a Raleigh Carleton which currently has beat up original paint, complete with 531 stickers, with say a powdercoat paint job because I bought hat frame to be ridden, want to do gravel on it and would like a framebuilder to look at the frame before and after sandblasting and pay no attention to the original decals and artwork, is the bike C & V? Is it just V? Is it anything at all besides a bike that is a blast to ride?

I have made zero attempts to stay period but I think the builders would like what I have done. Completely mix and match, but it all works very well.

Drive train: Sugino triple, SunTour AX, Shimano Alvisio (had it and needed the take-up), 7 speed 13-28, SunTour ratchet shifters
Phil hubs, Open Pro or MA?? rims, DB spokes
SR bars, Nitto Pearl stem, Tektro levers
Mafac Racer front, Weinmann CP rear (front and rear feel very similar with this combo/ Been doing it for years.
the score! - SR MKE-100 seatpost pushed back to 60mm setback

So, does this bike qualify to be hanging out at C & V? Except for that rear derailleur, most of the parts are of C & V vintage or very nice modern equivalents (the stem, the hubs).

(My Peter Mooney is just as much of a hodge-podge. And was from day one. Front and rear brakes have always matched though.)

Ben

rms13

Thanks for all the opinions. So I have one good 1" scratch on the downtube with some "patina" and a bunch of smaller nicks. So I guess I can just clearcoat/nail polish over the scratches? Any reason to sand the bigger scratch? I describe that one more as patina not full rust. Also keep in mind I live in a valley area of LA not near ocean where we hardly get rain (this year being an exception)

randyjawa 

The most important thing to consider, when repainting a bicycle is, that it can be original only once. It can be restored an infinite number of times and each restoration will do nothing to restore original. That said...

Though nothing special about me, I am a serious collector of vintage road bicycles. Rare is it that I would pay a penny for a repainted bicycle, these days. With that in mind, the truly valuable bikes are those retaining their original state, even though it is marred, or enhanced if you will, by a patina of age.

Of course, there are those who argue against value considerations. And I can respect that! But I also know that only a stupid person spends a bunch of money, time and effort only to lower the value of an item.

All of the above, of course, is only my opinion. But just try to sell me a repainted frame. Not interested, thanks.

R3tired

So many opinions here. None are wrong. I think it is up to you. It is your bike. Do you have an historical bike that maybe should be in a museum? Is it a valuable frame that you plan to resell later? Or is it just for you and you want it to look nice. I was in the last group and I kind of decided BEFORE I got the frame. I wanted a red CIOCC like one I had years ago. I was lucky enough to find a frame my size, but it was the wrong colour and in bad condition. It had lots of rusted areas, some spots were rusted through in the stays, damaged dropouts, RD could not be attached. So, I figured if you are going to repaint, the best way is to send it back to the guy that built it, which I did. So is it a repaint or a new old frame? I love how it looks and I don’t think I lowered the value of the frame. I may have increased it’s value by having the original builder restore it. We will never know as I will never sell it.

Peugeotlover

Great story & pictures, your Ciocc looks nice.

ItsTimeToBike

I went for a powder coat repaint of this Bianchi -
The frame was a fairly beat up brown. Since it needed inspection and possible overhauling anyway it wasn't
a waste to strip it down to the frame since it gave me the opportunity to lube and replace any worn items.
Sometimes changing color can enhance aesthetics, value, and appreciation, and in this case it did all three. I have a Schwinn Volare with lots of nicks - but all original. Yes, a new pearl-essence power-coat would make it aesthetically more attractive, but as mentioned above - a fairly scarce bike's paint shouldn't be tampered with unless the rider doesn't care about future value. I'm sure there are exceptions, but it makes for a tough call when you're on the fence about it.