Doug Fattic wrote, in part:
I don't know that it is necessary to describe in detail all the steps that lead to a beautiful job but, if some remain convinced American pricing isn't fair, it might be worth the effort.
Doug Fattic Niles, Michigan USA
*****
It was these signal facts that prompted my initial post to this thread. Those of us who have done careful refinishing work on *anything* know just how hard it is to get a good job in the end. And how much time it takes, even if you're good at it.
As a teen-ager, I once spent a whole summer carefully stripping the varnish from a Cheoy Lee offshore 40 sailboat. And revarnishing. A fairly straightforward job, you'd think. A miserable *&^%#*& mess, as I recall. And a very big job for an owner who was VERY particular. Using the old Jabsco paint-remover, that burns like hell if you get it on you. Toxic as all-get-out. I finally had to enlist help from another refinisher to finish the job on time. You can't leave that teak out in the Hawaiian sun too long unprotected. And getting a really good varnish job took weeks and weeks of work on that boat. Endless prep. Endless sanding, of coat after coat.
Doing *paint*-jobs on boats was even tougher. Yack. I do it only for myself now...as infrequently as possible.
And that was an *easy* job compared to properly painting a bicycle frame, to the kind of standard I would expect for my money. I have a pretty good idea what's involved, and it's a job that requires a great deal of careful hand-work..and even more, a refinisher with a LOT of experience.
This is why I felt Mr. Vaz wasn't charging enough. None of my business of course. But, man, if his work is as good as it appears in some pics Doug Smith sent me, then the guy really isn't charging enough.
That said, I have seen a number of recent refinishing jobs from the UK in the last couple of years, and I can second Mr. Fattic's suggestion that the UK jobs just aren't quite as meticulous as the jobs I have seen from Joe Bell, and CyclArt and Brian Baylis, to name three I've worked with directly more than once. The main problem, to my eye, is that the UK jobs tend to have paint that is on the thick side. With one exception: Argos. Argos does a damned nice job. In the ballpark with American quality, in my humble opinion. And they charge accordingly. And I would describe Argos's prices as quite reasonable, even if they are somewhat higher than other UK refinishers.
In any event. You pays your money, you takes your choice, as the man said. From where I sit, knowing what a really involved paint-job can cost in person-hours and requisite experience, $800 US for a soup-to-nuts two-color paint job with graphics on a vintage frame is a genuine bargain. And under $200 US is just plain unbelievable.
Charles Andrews Los Angeles
Anyone who believes exponential growth can go on forever in a finite world is either a madman or an economist.
--Kenneth Boulding