If you could choose...

[The Renaissance Man]

...between original patina or fresh paint, what would you choose?

If you were offered one of two identical bikes (picture any bike in your head) and the only difference between them was the finish; one with original paint & great looking patina or one with a nice slick repaint; which one would you take?

 

[Rockit!]

OG all the way.

 

[ODDER]

they are only original once.

 

[deorman]

You can always ruin it yourself, if you don't like rust and scratches.

 

[CCR]

fresh paint

 

[Bicycle808]

You can always ruin it yourself, if you don't like rust and scratches.

I like to get'm original, even if I intend to refinish them from the start. The main reason is, repaints can hide a lot of "Sins": cracks, repairs, bondo, whatever. With OG paint (or no paint; that's cool, too) I know exactly what I'm getting.

Now, I don't collect bikes for any traditional "collector's value" reasons. I like to mess around with bikes, so originality means nothing to me. But, I think it's common knowledge that a repaint reduces a collectible bike's value significantly, even when compared to a rough example of the original finish. So, if you're looking for high-dollar on the sale of a collectible bike, it'd best be original paint.

PS- If the thing is going to have fresh paint on it, I want to be the one to pick the color and how it's applied, right?

 

[texasbigjon]

original paint would have more character!

 

[the_undecider]

Th title of the thread is "if you could choose," so I choose original with NO patina...as in mint, original, pristine, a time capsule.

A guy can dream, right?

 

[deven_science]

OG w/patina. It's taken decades to earn it's look. Seems like a sin to get rid of that.

 

[LukeTheJoker]

Easy choice, I agree with most so far, original with character...

Luke.

 

[B607]

I want both bikes! One for show and one for go. Gary

 

[mikeeebikey]

I prefer brown house paint.....sorry kingfish!
O.g. paint, I made the repaint mistake, once. I got to keep that phantom due to my unwillingness to give the bike away for the price of paint.

 

[RPJ]

repaint = 4-5 hrs work (give or take)
OG pantina = years or decades

I try not to mess with something thats taken 30 yrs to get this good, their are exceptions.

 

[The Black Monark]

orig

 

[kingfish254]

I prefer brown house paint.....sorry kingfish!
O.g. paint, I made the repaint mistake, once. I got to keep that phantom due to my unwillingness to give the bike away for the price of paint.

I don't have any problem with house paint. As a matter of fact, I am thinking of running my BONINE bike as is with old red house paint. Sometimes old repaints have their own patina and story to tell.

But back to the question at hand, I would prefer original with patina (even over original without much patina).

 

[heartlandcruisers]

well to me as far as new paint and/or patina,it all depends on the bike.
i do like a nice petina look and you cannot duplicate that .
however,with a fresh paintjob ,a bike would look awesome as well.
im kinda old school ratrod fashioned so petina tells a story and shows the bike was well used.
so, i have to go with petina why hide the history of a truly enjoyed bicycle.

 

[kingfish254]

The only issue I have with this is the story of a 40+ year old repaint with house paint is usually a real historical story about telling how a 10 year old kid did things with no resources in the 60's, etc. My personal thoughts on doing that today are similar to fake patina, where "the story" being told is more of a "tall tale".
But that's just my humble opinion....

I see your point and agree with it. I was referring to keeping the 40 year old paint that the kid put on my bike, not trying to replicate a 40 year old repaint. Not that I have any issues with fauxtina paint jobs either. Like all paint jobs, there are good ones and there are bad ones. Too each their own.

 

[kingfish254]

I totally agree with saving the historical significance of an old paint job being part of a bike's history. I misinterpreted what you were saying before.
But the again, if a person's talents, resources and tastes are on par with a ten year old from the 60's, they should use house paint whenever possible.

I'm busted!!!! I was trying to romanticize the old house paint, when in fact I am just lazy.

 

[The Renaissance Man]

I tend to gravitate toward original patina.

A bonus is that you don't have to be as concerned with adding a new scratch or scrape while using it as it was intended. Trailer queens are great to admire at shows or museums, but are not very practical to ride.

As far as manufactured patina, it depends on how good the finished job is. It has to be very convincing before I like it.

 

[mick5cents]

Og