clean or mean

[Rex Rattus]

so im setting up for a photo shoot soon, and i was wondering what all of your opinions might be on appearance.

one of the two bikes for the shoot is about 3 years old [after the rebuild]. and has been through 3 years of hard ohio year round riding. salt, snow, anything you can think of. its pretty gritty. rusted stuff, paint worn away.

so should i keep it ratty with battle scars, or clean it up and have it look pretty?

 

[66olds98]

Both!

 

[Rex Rattus]

yes, because thats not contradicting at allllll.

what i ment was, should i touch up the paint, and try to clean up the chrome.
ill be giving it a good wash regardless.

 

[Bigcam59]

When I was considering repainting my Schwarthorne somebody said "It'' only be original once..." Needless to say I left it alone-mechanically perfect but alone. 8)

 

[icyuod2]

from my experiance, when photographing a rusty bike, it looks twice as rusty.
in the wrong light,even chrome i've cleaned that looks to be rust free, often takes on a golden-brown color.

clean it up!

 

[chukndatruk]

not trying to be a smart-butt, but your kinda asking us if this dress makes you look fat, umm...... just do it!

 

[Rex Rattus]

so you DO think this dress makes me look fat?!

i could go either way on what i want. the shoot is for this site, so i figured id leave it up to the judges. if i want it clean, and you guys say dirty, well ill just clean it after the shoot.

and its not so much the rust, its all the road grime, dirt, grease, and other crap. ive kinda beat this one to the ends of the earth. no garage, snow and salted roads all winter every year. i had to cut the last chain off a few weeks ago because it was rusted solid. [dont worry boys, everything else still works]
this is pretty much the anti-trailor queen.

im still open for suggestions, but at this point i suppose ill shoot it dirty, clean it up, and shoot it clean.