[CR]Re: Resprays: what if the color is not right?

(Example: Bike Shops)

Date: Thu, 19 Apr 2007 12:57:53 -0400 (EDT)
From: "Emanuel Lowi" <lowiemanuel@yahoo.ca>
To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
In-Reply-To: <MONKEYFOODWYmX0nmR10000394e@monkeyfood.nt.phred.org>
Subject: [CR]Re: Resprays: what if the color is not right?

The bicycle restoration business must be an awfully fussy world. I bet that a good portion of the US painters are dealing with concours-level restoration work and must factor in to their prices the cost of dealing with ultra-finicky emotion-laden frame jobs and their similar owners.

In the UK, I may assume that more is the utilitarian re-spray -- fine work indeed, perhaps not catered to a trophy-wielding judge, though.

I come from the world of rare cameras, where restoration is a no-no, except in the most extreme of extreme cases. A rare camera would not be repainted, lest it lose most of its appeal as a collectile. Functional repair is usually acceptable, if with period-correct parts.

I'm a little surprised by the willingness to repaint bikes, given that -- other than the builder's brazing craft and geometric details -- the painted/chromed finish is what typically distinguished one marque from the other. The original paint job seems to me to be intrinsic to what the bike is aesthetically and originally, even if compounded by Time's patina.

Just my 2 cents.

Emanuel Lowi Montreal, Quebec

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