restoration question

[sloar]

in the process of restoring some old bikes, nothing high dollar right now and restoring them for myself not for sale. question is, does it hurt value much if i paint the rims to match and some of the trim pieces rather than getting them rechromed? i would rather keep the original pieces even if it means painting than buying new rims or other things. thanks

 

[Anonymous]

Thats a question that will go on for pages...

 

[CycleTruck]

I've always disliked the term "restoration." To me, that means bringing the bike back to factory specification so that it can sit as a display, which is good in that some of this old stuff needs to be preserved for the sake of history. All of my bikes go through what I call resurrection. It's more of a repair & preservation with what I'm able to obtain without breaking my own finances. All of my bikes are riders, so I don't feel the need to make them historically correct. I just make them as correct as I can, but I make sure that I can enjoy them. I consider the dents and scratches, battle scars. If I or someone knocks my bike over causing damage, I see it as an opportunity to enjoy wrenching on it. There is no right or wrong, it's all about what's right for you. After all, we cannot own these bikes forever. We're only their keepers for the time that we're here. Then it's up to the next keeper to decide how to do it.

Regarding paint; the paint will preserve the metal until someone decides to put chrome back on it. Hope this helps!

~ Dave

 

[55ColumbiaBuilt]

I agree with everything CycleTruck said....every word.