Obviously you shouldn't leave any "patina" on a bike that is actively damag ing to it's condition.
Of the four bikes I sent photos of the Bastide was the "limit" case and the one I was expecting this sort of criticism about.
It appears to me that the corrosion on the Bastide is passive, not active, and that it will stabilise in this condition if the bike is conserved in a dry atmosphere. But if someone can prove this is scientifically incorrect, then I will agree the bike should be cleaned polished and waxed. NOT restor ed under any circumstance. On the other hand, the bike has been here a numb er of years, and the condition hasn't changed one bit.
In museums, I haven't noticed that bronze Greek statues are polished up to a high finish, and the green surface oxydation removed to get back to the o riginal colour? I understand that the patina is actually a surface protect ion against the ravages of time.
But of course all of these museum curators might just be idiots, or not hav e enough skill, money, or talent to restore/have their works of art restore d properly?
Anyway my point was : far more damage has been done to bicycles by the "il faut que ça brille" ("let's get this nice and shiny") brigade than by the conservationists.
In actual fact I think that at the next Cirque there should be an "over-res tored" category. Winners should be made to hand over any bike they have not already destroyed, and banned from buying any more bikes until they have a mended their ways.
Alexander March Bordeaux France
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