George,
I agree wholeheartedly. As a former archaeologist of over 20 years (and married to a former archaeological conservator) I have seen my share of bags of iron artefacts which were kept - because they were deemed to be part of the site archive - end up as nothing more than piles of rust "dust"!
Patina is one thing, but active corrosion is another - often that nice verdigris on Cu-alloy objects hides more destructive issues. We find ourselves in a situation, which was discussed at length fairly recently, of whether a bike is to be simply hung on the wall or is to be ridden. Either way, corrosion is not a good thing and left unchecked can turn a valuable keepsake into a fragile and unstable mess. But, it goes without saying that this becomes an even greater issue when it comes to a "rider"!
Cheers,
Paul
Paul B. Williams, BAH, MPhil, PhD
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
castell5@sympatico.ca
> Dear Nick:
> Let me further clarify my post. Borrowing terminology from other
> collectible fields and applying it to vintage bicycles is both specious
> and misleading.
> Rust, corrosion, etc. do not constitute "patina", they represent damage.
> Even the idea that patina, even when the term is properly applied, is
> always desirable is not true. What constitutes desirable patina in other
> collectibles is not a proper subject for this forum.
> Damage to collectibles, especially if it is progressive, should be
> repaired (usually the sooner the better, since " a stitch in time", etc.).
> The extent of such repairs will depend on the perceived value of the bike
> to be repaired and the will, talent, or means available to effect them.
> The semantics of what constitutes "conservation", "restoration", etc. can
> also be confusing, and vary in different areas of collectibles, in
> different time periods, and in different cultures.
> In any event, what can not be disputed is that rust, corrosion, etc. in a
> vintage bike, if left unrepaired over a period of time will destroy the
> bike.
> Vice (in the sense of defect) cannot be presented as virtue.
> George
> George Hollenberg MD
> CT, USA
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Nick March
> Date: Thursday, July 17, 2008 7:23 am
> Subject: [CR]Principles and Terminology in Vintage Steel Bike Collecting
> To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
>
>> Dear George,
>> having read your "diatribe" (sorry for my poor English) abour
>> borrowing fin
>> e arts terminology and misusing it, cost and lack of talent
>> (unless I misre
>> ad you in which case, sorry) affecting choice of "restoration
>> extent", and
>> although I don't have a Master in anything (was too busy working
>> when I was
>> young), I would point out the following: in archeology, the
>> first step is
>> stabilization. This can run from isolation from oxygen by means
>> of protecti
>> ve coating, to chemical neutralization or destruction of
>> corrosive or destr
>> uctive elements of any nature. Various stages of restoration are
>> available
>> and used, from partial abrasion to total stripping back to bare
>> metal. Muse
>> um curators generally like shiney artefacts (note: "generally").
>> Collectors insist on patina: removing a stable green patina from
>> a roman coin will de
>> tract froms it's value by 90% +
>>
>> In the case of the bike I saw shown, obviously any powdery
>> surface rust wil
>> l not be left on: the correct and well tried technique for bike
>> stabilization is to rub in liberal amounts of light oil such as
>> 3 in 1, then burnish.
>> This will prevent any further deterioration. Further, more
>> radical steps su
>> ch as abrading away peeling chrome mean a lot of hard work to
>> maintain non-
>> corroded condition, but are used, as is partial paint
>> restoration (eg, touc
>> hing in the larger areas of missing paint).
>>
>> Anyhow, my point is that there are three steps in bicycle
>> "conservation": s
>> tabilization, conservation or preservation, and finally, full
>> restoration (
>> conservation and preservation being partial restorations, and
>> restoration m
>> eaning the removal or addition - of corrosion, chrome, paint or else.
>>
>> King regards
>> Nick March, Agen, 47000, France
>>
>> Date: Thu, 17 Jul 2008 01:14:50 +0000 (GMT)
>> From: gholl@optonline.net
>> To: Classic Rendezvous
>> Subject: [CR]Principles and Terminology in Vintage Steel Bike
>> CollectingMessage-ID:
>> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
>> MIME-Version: 1.0
>> Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT
>> Precedence: list
>> Message: 4
>>
>> It seems to me that out hobby is still so new that, as yet,
>> there is little
>> agreement on terminology or even on the principles of what
>> constitutes a d
>> esirable vintage bike.
>> Some attempt to borrow (incorrectly) terminology and therefore
>> ideas, from
>> the fine arts and antiques fields and apply them to vintage bikes.
>> One of these terms is "patina". Patina is a film formed on
>> bronze or copper
>> by treatment with acids or exposure to the elements over time.
>> By analogy
>> it also refers to a surface mellowing with age or use. To apply
>> this termin
>> ology to steel bikes' rust and corrosion is specious and
>> incorrect. In the
>> field of fine arts and antiques, damage, such as by mildew,
>> parasites, "fo
>> xing", etc., is not patina-it's simply damage. Rust is damage.
>> In fact, if
>> a rusted bike is left alone, the damage will progress and,
>> eventually, whe
>> re ferrous metals are involved, only rust will remain. Some
>> collectors wou
>> ld like to make vice into virtue by claiming their rusted and
>> damaged bikes
>> are in a more "natural" state, etc., but, in reality, and for a
>> variety of
>> reasons, they lack the will or means to perform the proper
>> repairs (or ha
>> ve others do them), and would have the world believe that their
>> damaged bik
>> es have "patina". In time, however, they will have nothing.
>> In my opinion, the repair of each bike should be individualized-
>> severe dama
>> ge will require drastic means and slight damage only the mildest
>> of remedie
>> s. Naturally, the more drastic the repair, the greater the
>> talent needed to
>> effect it, and, in most cases, the greater the cost. Each
>> collector must s
>> omehow titrate the value of a damaged bike (which might be
>> subjective in so
>> me cases, but not all) against the extent and cost of repair.
>> George
>> George Hollenberg MD
>> CT, USA
>> =0A=0A=0A
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>
> George Hollenberg MD
> CT, USA