> Emanuel Lowi wrote;
> 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.
Emanuel, I completely agree however actively ridden bikes get a lot of wear. I kept my Viking in it's original paint work (which was heavily scratched and there was surface rust) it has a certain lustre I'm not sure it could be easily recreated as the frame is not worth as much as a true restoration would cost. I also believe it's wear added heavily to it's character As it is now in need of repair am only refinishing as it's going to need new top and down tubes.
I think each case is different, I know for sure I wouldn't refinish unless it really needed it.
Vic Davies mentioned that at Viking they applied seven coats of paint
(if including priming and jenolising) for a single colour job. I find
it really sad to look at this as the bike is now wrecked (and that I
was lucky not to have been killed or disabled in the accident) but
have a look at the pictures here http://www.fixedgeargallery.com/
Best regards
Julius Naim