Friday, July 17, 2015

Original Paint

When it comes to old bicycles, the subject of restoration and renovation comes up a lot. People have an old bike they've ridden for a lot of years, or maybe find one at a garage sale or an uncle's basement. The bike has some chips in the paint, a little surface rust here and there, maybe some pitted chrome. It's a decent bike though, and they'll consider getting it repainted. Is it always a good idea though?

I get regular emails from members of the Classic Rendezvous group, and this topic is a regular one. In a recent conversation thread, someone included a link to an article from someone who probably knows as much about bike restoration and renovation as anyone can: Jim Cunningham of CyclArt. Jim was once a painter for Masi back when they were producing frames in California, then worked with the great Mario Confente until his death in 1979. Now his company is one of the top specialists in the U.S. for bicycle finishing and restoration.

Jim has this article, A Simple Jobon the CyclArt site. It's dated from just over a year ago, though it's possible it could pre-date that. In it, he writes about getting a beautiful '60s-vintage Frejus track frame in his shop - filthy dirty, but remarkably well-preserved under the years' worth of grime. A customer sent it to him with the work order to powder coat the entire frame in plain black, including the lovely brass head badge. Nuts!

The article isn't very long, but it's worth a read. Any retrogrouch would enjoy it.

More than that, but it raises an interesting point about the pros and cons of restoring or renovating an old bike. As some collectors will say, "a bike only has its original paint once." With a bike that's rare and/or valuable, one should really think twice before getting new paint. If there is significant damage that must be repaired, it may be one thing - but things like a few chips or scratches, and some minor surface rust can often be dealt with while still preserving the original finish.

I've renovated a few old bikes myself. There are lots of times when it is perfectly appropriate. With mass-market, mass-produced bikes, I wouldn't feel too bad about getting new paint to help give the bike a new lease on life. An old Nishiki, or Centurion might be a nice bike from a riding standpoint, but probably isn't particularly valuable or collectible. If it looks beat up and new paint would make it more enjoyable to ride - why not? Even powder coat it, and try not to lose sleep over it.

But some bikes really are better left alone. And with a more collectible bike, if it does have more serious problems that need to be repaired - like bad rust that goes beyond the surface, or a cracked tube, or something - then one should have the work done by somebody who will do it in such a way as to preserve whatever character the bike may have had, and be refinished with respect to the original. If someone doesn't really know the difference, it certainly wouldn't be a bad idea to get some input before plunging into the project. And unlike the person with the Frejus in Cunningham's article, hopefully take the advice.

13 comments:

  1. Thanks for that post. What is your opinion on powder coating vs. wet paint on a tig welded frame. No ornate lugs or craftsmanship brazing to disfigure, so . . . . The frame in question is a 1995 Tom Ritchey Road Logic. Thanks.

    Thanks.

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    1. I wouldn't be offended if you sought a second opinion, but on one of the tig-welded Ritcheys, I'd probably go ahead with powder coating. One of TR's fillet-brazed bikes, actually made by Tom, there might be more liklihood of a bike like that to have more future value and I might suggest keeping it original (if possible) or at least getting a more proper paint job.

      About powder coating, I'd also suggest that not all powder coaters are equal. I've seen powder coating that was too thick, or uneven, and poorly applied. Ask around, get recommendations from people who've had bicycles done. If you ask the coaters themselves if they do bikes, or if they have a lot of experience with bikes, I'm sure they'll all say Yes, but that doesn't mean you'd like the results. If the guy says "I can coat anything that's metal" I might suggest going elsewhere.

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  2. Interesting article. Let me express a somewhat contrarian opinion.

    I have a much loved and ridden Rivendell custom road bike that was originally designed and built as a sort of "luxury gofast." But since most of my riding was commuting and "errand" riding (turn a 3 mile trip to the grocery store into a 20 mile jaunt), this bike was hanging on the wall while I did most of my riding on beaters -- nice riding beaters, but still, beaters. I finally decided that this was stupid, so I had a local builder make some changes, after which I re-built the bike as a daily commuter. Now, some 9 years after that initial re-make, I'm having another local builder refashion the same bike further with dyno wiring braze ons, custom racks, etc etc. *And*, I'm having it powdercoated -- this on a frame with a wonderful Joe Bell paint job, albeit one that has its share of nicks and scuffs after 12 years.

    My reason for this is: I'd rather enjoy the superb ride and handling and fit of this bike in my everyday riding, and an inexpensive but sturdy powdercoat seems far more appropriate to this use than an uber expensive paint job.

    A few years ago I bought a very nice 1958 Rene Herse. It was a sort of ugly duckling Herse: the first US owner had brought it back to the US from France to use as a sort of city bike; found he didn't like it; and sold it to a local friend, who in turn didn't like it and sold it to me for a very good price. I rode it for a year, and while it fit and performed wonderfully, I found that didn't really fit any of my cycling needs, so I sold it. But before I did that, I had a local builder cut off a non-functioning braze-on, and then had it powdercoated. The braze on was a tt-mounted attachment for a leftside shifter that was meant to activate a bottle dynamo on the left seatstay. Since I couldn't find a suitable, and efficient modern, dynamo to be so operated, the brazeon was useless.

    The Herse's original light blue was faded. I had it powdercoated in a similar blue by someone specializing in bike frames; the result was very frankly, beautiful -- far, far nicer than the original paint -- deep, "moist", rich -- I was amazed at the result. The buyer, who was delighted to find a "non-museum-piece" Herse at a very good price, loves it.

    To sum up, 2 points: I believe that one gives best homage to a classic bike by riding it. Preserving its aesthetic points is very much secondary. If "non-concourse" modifications allow you to better experience the ride -- which, after all, is the entire point of the bike -- then, by all means, modify it.

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    1. You raise good points. Obviously there is room for multiple points of view on a topic like this. I've had bikes powder coated - like my wife's old Trek 420, and my old Stumpjumper. On something with more delicate lugwork, nicely thinned and with clean shorelines, I'd want to spring for a wet paint job from someone who knows how not to lay it on too thick -- if I really felt it needed new paint, that is.

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  3. Sorry but this reminds me of the holy-rollers who don't want to sell wedding cakes to gays. You have a business, the customer isn't asking you to do something illegal, and I understand you don't agree with their choice, but in the end you have a public business and you need to suck it up and do the damn job. Change your business model to referral only if you're such a sensitive soul and then you can pick and choose what you do.

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  4. It's funny that I should run across this (excellent) article now. One of my four Mercians is a 1994 Miss Mercian I purchased secondhand four years ago. The paint has lots of chips and scrapes, but there doesn't seem to be any rust. It has a "classic" look, with its British Racing Green paint and gold lug outlines and lettering. If I do say so myself, I enhanced the look with the fenders I installed as well as a honey Brooks B-17 and bar tape, and a RuthWorks randonneur bag.

    Still, I'm sometimes tempted to paint it to match my other Mercians, which are the builder's #57 ("flip-flop purple/green) with white outlines and letters. On one hand, I think the bike looks good as is and people compliment it. On the other hand, I see all the chips and scratches and feel as if it's the "outsider" in my fleet.

    Let me assure you that I won't powdercoat it. I simply wouldn't do that to any Mercian. Now, if it were a middle-of-the-line Raleigh, that would be another story!

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    1. I had one of mine repainted some years back. I got it used, it had some rust and a dent in one of the tubes. I had Mercian do the paintwork and repairs. Their prices are quite reasonable, but the shipping back and forth to England eliminated any savings.

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  5. I've always believed in keeping old bikes original, including the paint…that's what makes them unique. If the condition of the bike is not to your liking, then keep looking. Patience and persistence will eventually be rewarded. I realize others don't share this opinion and that's cool. Keep up the good work Brooks...

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  6. I've used powder coating to stiffen up a cheap frame. Obviously, I'm a bit nutty.

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  7. As they say on Antiques Roadshow - never try and restore or even really clean an item of historical significance and/or value.

    That being said, most bicycles do not fall into that category, and one person's idea of value may be different from another's. Certainly it is helpful to inform an owner they may have a hidden gem, but unless the painter was willing to buy the frame to save it, the end result is someone else is going to do the job. Still, within his rights to refuse the work.

    The story in the photo is truncated when I try and read it, BTW - maybe just my browser

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    1. You are right that most bicycles don't fall into that category. And for those that don't, I don't have a problem with repainting them. But I shudder at the thought of somebody powder coating an early Cinelli or some similarly valuable bike.

      The image of the article is truncated (it's basically just a screenshot, and only as much as I could fit in the screen) but there is a link in the article that takes you to the full story on the CyclArt website.

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  8. Thanks - had missed the embedded link

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    1. Yeah - they can sometimes be hard t see, so I converted the screen shot int a link too. Thanks for letting me know.

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