smd4

An old French coin equal to 12 deniers?

icemilkcoffee 

Well, they make wraps for this exact reason

repechage

perhaps colorblind in a different way.

moving away from the various tones of blue would help.
actually this era of DiNucci graphics I think detracts from the fabrication quality. The pump herald is just curious here. Merz suffers the same level of graphic quandary.

Polaris OBark

obrentharris 

This may prove difficult. Mark now uses masks for his logos.


Brent

iab

Blue sucks. Not the first time I wrote this.

Cinelli_Model_B 004 by iabisdb, on Flickr

Robvolz 

I like this example:

Robvolz 

Also, Mark says it was painted by Joe Bell.

that’s not cheap

Pompiere

I don't intentionally look for blue bikes, but over the years, I have acquired five of them. I saw the benefit of this one day this summer when I went for a ride while my wife was out. She doesn't know all the brands, but she remembers all of the colors. She got home before I did and couldn't figure out where I was because she saw bikes in the garage, but didn't realize that one of the blue ones was missing. I think I have reached the point where I could bring more blue bikes into the herd and they would not get noticed. "Oh no, I've had this one for years." Blue is also her favorite color, so she never discourages me if I am looking at a bike that is a pretty shade of blue.

Robvolz 

I have not been shy about my dislike for the paint on that tandem.

I keep thinking how good it would look in Saronni red. Repainting it would be a nice winter project, except local painters take more than a year.



Ugly color

bikingshearer 

I like Saronni red, but I think that Colnago blue is the bee's knees. I also love the traditional Gios-Torino cobalt blue.

I think my blue Ron Cooper is the prettiest bike I own. (You saw it at Eroica CA, Rob.) Ed Litton repainted it, and he called it "Oriental Blue." Hate away . . . .

dphi 

This was kinda my first thought as well, change the color but keep the original paint intact.

squirtdad

This is pretty much what I was going to suggest. Great Minds and all of that

going white and silver will de-blue the bike and maybe make it acceptable to the anti blue person

but ride it first and make sure you love how it rides. if you do, then it is your bike.....so if you want to paint it go for it.

another thought is to do limited painting, white on the head tube, white stripes bands on the seat tube, maybe lug lining that would end up stunning IMHO, with the question is stunning enough to override blue hate?

example of stripes bands on seat tube and head tube different color

polymorphself 

So it's not actually a grail bike for you, it's just close to it.

It'll always be in the back of your head, better to move along.

I like blue bikes in certain shades, this isn't one of them.

mechanicmatt

Yeah I'd agree with this. Pump though I'd maybe leave.

Silver wheels, black tires, new tape, and saddle would go a long way.

Otherwise, I'd find more things to make it more blue.

Reynolds 

Color taste is totally personal, so I won"t go into that. But my opinion is, if paint is original, leave it alone and find another one. If it's not, repaint it.
Of course this advice is worth what you paid for it.

Robvolz 

Anybody got a 55.5 DiNucci in anything but blue?

merziac

54 Strawberry made by Andy.

In Black

SoCaled 

Edit: looks like the OP reached the same conclusion while I was typing
Reading through this thread I feel like I am starting to see the Forrest through the trees, not based on my expertise (don't have much) but just reading for comprehension. Lots of posts suggesting ways to make it "Less Blue" and keep the paint, which seems like a fools errand (for the OP) based on the OP's clearly stated thoughts on Blue.

So if Blue is off the table, then it is a repaint or swap for another bike

based on OP's seemingly endless network of bike sources and clearly stated Hate of Blue and inability to see past it even on a grail Colnago might be best to take @merziac advice and seek out a trade?

Steel Charlie

In the SF area Rick Stefani does fantastic work and takes a few weeks not years

510-368-1689

merziac

Maybe to your eye.

His last HB is widely respected as far as I know and yes not a huge fan of the final DT version, I like the 2nd the most but it doesn't compliment the HB.

Many of them "suffered" from the same thing, resources were crude and most of them were determined to keep it their own, yes, often a bit crude.

The pump herald seems to be a misguided choice along the lines of others who did it on ones that were mounted on the ST.

Will be interesting to find out for sure if it wasn't there originally, nib or no, added later when water bottle bosses were added?

merziac

So is it original?

Robvolz 

The colnago is a historic piece. Only 11 were made.

And, while I say “it’s mine” it was actually a birthday gift to my sweetie. (which she loves, but referred to it as “half a gift,” half joking.)

she likes the blue, and there are no major scratches.

The only way I could ever rationalize painting it, is adding cable guides and stops for a drag brake. It gets up to speed rather quickly. Clocked once at 58mph. Then she started slapping my back to slow down.

I could try swapping all the extraneous blue, but then I’m stuck with all this blue stuff I’ll never use.

If I could find an even swap, I would. But, I’m tired of trying to make something fit.

I’ll enjoy it for now and see if it grows on me. It’s quite an electric color. No lights are needed.

Robvolz 

Yes. Joe Bell (nicest guy ever) was Mark’s painter before Eric.

smd4

Eh. Never got to the point of actually "hating" a color (although I had a neighbor who was fond of saying "the emotion of hate is very close to love"). I think it's a pretty awesome shade, personally.

Repaint or not, if you love everything about the bike as-is, except for the color, that would be reason enough for me to repaint it. Don't really buy into the argument that "it will only be original once." Unless it's some kind of historic piece or something. Presumably the frame-building expertise will be apparent in the ride quality, not the color of the pigment on the tubes' surfaces.

When we bought our house here in NC, the living room was painted a deep shade of red. We promptly repainted it white. The old owner came by to pick up her mail and was almost in tears when she saw "her" living room.

Whatevs.