I went to see Mario Vaz today after work with pictures of my Sun to get a price. He's a really nice guy and was very welcoming, it was also really great to see so many beautiful frames in his workshop. He used to run the paint shop at Holdsworth and has now set himself up with a fair sized workshop with a very healthy turn around. Being
in London there are droves of courier and commuters keen to ride a polished bike so there seems to be plenty of demand.
I mentioned his prices for a single colour, standard or metallic and decals earlier. For any job he shot-blasts them to strip them down, the attention to detail on a stripped frame I saw seemed very good indeed (smooth as anything). Paints with an anti-rust primer, main coat, applies decals and then lacquers; all cooked on in a big oven of course. You can request more than one coat at any stage if that's
what you're after.
The finished jobs I saw were good, I guess it depends what you're restoring. I think the paint finish for something run of the mill like my Sun would probably be better that it was when it was made, I've never had anything with a mint paint job to compare to but the finished frames I saw were better than any finishing I've seen new in
the shop on the high street.
The decals he has are from Nick at Lloyds but will happily use other decals if you can source them.
To give you an idea of costs for an average job (no blends or fades etc). My Sun to be refinished in White, Light blue and Flamboyant Red, colours separated with gold bands and lugs high-lighted with a gold detail would come to £95. I'm pretty certain it never had any
decals (apart from the gold bands) so I'm undecided on whether to put
a Sun badge on seat tube as it would look lovely and a set of decals adds £15 to the cost of any job. I didn't ask about chrome plating
as mine is in perfect condition. He said it would take up to three weeks after I drop off the frame, I'm sure he could be persuaded to turn them around in less time.
Interestingly he has some good contacts for frame building/repair. To replace a tube is £40, I couldn't believe this price as I'd been
quoted up to £200 from a local shop. The £40 covers the materials
and rebuilding (sticking it in a jig I think it's called it where the
alignment is checked etc. both before and after). To change drop- outs for track ends or to replace damaged drop-outs is more expensive
at £70. This is great news for me as my Viking would have cost me in
excess of £400 to repair and finish; I only paid £100 for it in the
first place, at these prices it would be about £160 to repair and refinish which would be well worth it.
I'm not really sure about the US/UK quality comparison, I guess you get what you pay for to some extent however I'm sure you can get as good in any country and equally you can get poor in any too. I don't
think anyone would be happy with their workmanship being graded on their country alone. David Patrick sent me some pictures of a finish
by Bob Jacksons which was superb and I can't see anything in this to the quality finishes from the US.
Right, I think I've said far too much on this thread. I'll shut up now.
Cheerio
Julius Naim
London, UK