I've enjoyed reading all the posts about Suzy's Malvern Star.
Quite a cool find!
Anyway, this does kind of strike a note with me. What do you do with a bike that is in a condition beyond patina, where rust is threatening damage and loss of original elements is likely to occur as the bike continues to age?
Its wonderful to find bikes in perfect condition that we just detail and show off, but unless you are well connected and have a big bank roll, its not likely.
Yesterday a father and son brought a pair of bikes into the shop. A balloon tire bike from the 1970s and a department store Mongoose. Both bikes had been left outside and not maintained at all. The father and son went to go look at new bikes while the mechanic evaluated the pair in the check in area. There happened to be 4 of us in the area when Kris was looking at the bikes, and we all had the same comment (unheard by the customer), simultaneously - basically, the bikes would not be in the condition they were in if they'd not been left outside.
The owners were really unhappy that the repair bill was to be so high, which was mostly based on their own abuse. They took the bikes and went off to Walmart to buy new ones to leave outside.
This is typical, unless the person who bought the bike in the first place knew of it's value, sentimental, historical or whatever, and kept it indoors in controlled conditions and tended to the mechanical needs, ridden or not. Those are the ones you need to be well bank rolled to acquire, or really lucky! Since a bicycle is a tool, sporting equipment and not a piece of furniture (unless you are in my living room) its likely many of the ones we desire are going to be in well used condition - the older, the more work needed.
Anyway, in the case of the Malvern Star, since that is such a rare treasure and since it is so far gone and with rust threatening it's continued existence - a refinish is in order.
The key thing is having someone do it that can reproduce the look of the paint, decals and details using modern materials, but making it look "correct."
Anyway, thats my soapbox, I doubt I'm alone up here
Ann Phillips, waxing philosophical in Decatur Ga