Patina

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Ok I'll start a bun fight :mrgreen:

PATINA So what is it rust and dust or originality and history ?

You see I don't get it back when I started riding in the early 80s I got to ride with the real "old school", they took you to task over your cycling etiquette the condition of your bike in appearance and roadworthy-ness. You never saw a faded paint job, touched up a bit maybe but not to the extent that it looked like a patch work quilt.

The old boys used to get their bike's repainted once they were past their best they may of had a frame 30plus years and had it sprayed numerous times.
Collectors may go on about a bike being "original" but for me a bike is only original once, as soon as a cable is change or BB, HS hell even the grease the bike has lost its originality, I'd concede that if a bike had not been altered in anyway from its original condition then it is truly original.

I've worked with a few painters over the years wether they be car sprayer, painter and decorator or spraying steel work but all have said the same thing
" there is nothing worse than tired paint work" . Dirty tired rusty frames don't do it for me but I can't understand why you would want to show off an old bike that looks scruffy ?. I look at a bike and it's been restored I like that I appreciate that, I look at a bike with rust spots worn paint and think why is it left in such a sorry state ?

Is not the history in something not just in its originality but more importantly that it has lasted it may have had replacement parts but it's essence has survived, I would guess that any major piece of art work has had restoration. Any part on a bicycle can be replaced and is therefore a consumable in the sense it has been used and consumed, to keep the bicycle going the part is replaced. So when paint work has been used and consumed why not replace it.

For myself a bicycle is a special piece of kit and it should always look its best regardless of how old it is.

So go on whats Patina all about ?
 
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Good thread.

My pal has a Flying Scot. It looks old. That is the charm.

Call it what you will, it just says classic. If it were box fresh I think I wouldn't give it a second glance.

I am the same way with cars. One of my favourite cars is an old Porsche 356 on its original paint and looking well worn in.
 
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Patina is what it's all about! Refurbish snotty old bikes until they look more like sweet rides that we get all nostalgic about is the game. A dog's a dog but sympathetically restored bikes win.
 
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imho ... patina and charm/character are fine and dandy up and until that character phenomenon borders onto the penumbra-zone between character and damage/abuse/beat-up-ness. At some point of wear-and-tear a bike simply needs to be re-done (paint wise) ... and one must appreciate that the 'originality factor' is, really, in some ways a bit of an illusion; for don't forget, a painter painting a frame twenty years ago is not much different than a painter painting that same frame today ... it's just paint and a skilled applicator, in-house or not - for on that note, I had my Brodie recently re-painted by Toxic Harald ... the original painter who likely painted it way back in 1989, when I had first ordered it from Paul. And I do not regret having it re-painted, as it turned out absolutely beautifully (fu@k the patina thing!), and having the original painter do the work sort ads a bit of a 'nod' toward that patina/originality direction in a light-hearted sort of way.

just a humble opinion
 
Im for keeing original paint up to the point it looks really manky, that point is difficult to quntify and probably could be another topic: at what point do you repaint a frame?
 
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Patina is what happens once it's been bought.

It doesn't bother me, rust, scratches, wear. I'll ride it and keep them like that.

Each to their own.
 
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FluffyChicken":oezg2n8d said:
Patina is what happens once it's been bought.

It doesn't bother me, rust, scratches, wear. I'll ride it and keep them like that.

Each to their own.

To me that is the real meaning of Patina. So I guess I'm guilty of a hate crime and I do hate the word "Patina" it just screams used old and tired "can't be arsed with it". I think the way it offends me the most is when it is used in the sale of something " The item has original patina" WTF you mean you didn't distress it on purpose beat it with a hammer, chuck battery acid over it.

I know they are correct in their description but to imply it has something special about it is ludicrous. I think we all accept that if an item is not new then it will invariably be used and have signs of wear and tear and if you don't then you're seriously naive. Dressing up an ad with fancy words is just a load of B.S I know its marketing I just can't tell the difference.
 
In general I prefer the original look over restored, that's cars and bikes for me.

As long as its not going to shorten the life of it, id rather leave it to tell its life story.
 
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