Dean has expressed my perspective very well and I would reiterate from an earlier post the concept that each bike is a different case to look at individually.
I thank the list for preventing me from repainting my PX-10 in favor of a paint repair (put off for the moment), but if I felt corrosion was an issue and hoped to ride it, which I see as my reason for having vintage bikes, I won't hesitate to take the needed measures to preserve it.
thx
Jon M. Crate Marietta, Georgia 30066
On Behalf Of Dean Nixon Sent: Monday, November 09, 2009 9:36 AM To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org Subject: Re: [CR] Finishing Frames and forks
In theory I agree with the 'no repaint' argument but in practice there are a few obvious obstacles. The main issue is that 'vintage' bikes in good condition with a nice 'patina' of age and original paint and decals are quite rare. Unfortunately many of us can not find or afford such fine examples, nor do we have space to store and display them. If you fall into one of these categories, like I do, the closest you will come to owning vintage Italian or British iron will be a beat up, rusted, pitted, missing decals, poorly repainted and modified version. A seasoned collector will not give such examples a second glance and the average person would put them in the trash unless it could be ridden into the ground first as a 'beater'.
Lets for arguments' sake say these frames are post WWII and structurally sound. These are the kinds of frames I have access to and can afford. I take pride in giving a bicycle like this a second life and restoring a bit of it's former glory and give it another few decades of life. I don't ride it as a beater, but it's not a display piece either. It is a machine someone can care about and a ride with pride and in the process open a whole new world of vintage bicycles to the uninitiated!!
So in a nutshell, I agree that a vintage bicycle should not be repainted due to faded paint or a few paint chips and or spots of corrosion. I don't advocate 'factory' new appearance as an aesthetic 'goal'. For extremely rare samples regardless of condition they should not be ridden anyways! But, for those classic bicycles that have taken some abuse in their day, there is nothing more 'right' that spending the time and effort to get them on the road again. Sure the paint formula is not exactly the same colour and the decals are not exactly the same - but it is still, in my eyes, superior to most of the modern frames out there.
Dean Nixon
Toronto, Canada