KONA EXPLOSIF REYNOLDS 853 - TO RE-PAINT OR RE-TOUCH - HELP!

[andrewl]

leave it as it is, just touch up the bad bits and gave the frame a good clean.
put on some nice parts with the money you saved when not having it repainted

What he said.

Its actually looks pretty good as is so I'd just treat any exposed metal and build it up as a rider.

 

[Ernie]

Too be honest i have done both..i have resprayed/powdercoated 3 frames..i have enclosed 4 pics below.. and have one KONA EXPLOSIF 853 1999 that is near mint and a KONA HOT 1997 that i touched in with model paints. The frames i have had sprayed have met with very positive comments..but some members believe that they should be left "as is" to keep that retro feel..

I am very lucky i ride all my bikes, i ride every day to work..I have had people stop me in "static traffic" asking me about them..the colour schemes/powder coating etc

i can both sides of the argument..basically back in the 90's i had a young family.. now i can "afford" these bikes i lusted for. If the frame is badly scratched well used or "patina" i would get it repsrayed.

One topic i do agree on is if you spend £££ on re spray and decals plus with the price of the frame i doubt that you would any profit if you were to sell

Looking at yours i would touch it up with model enamel paint and get a 853 decal form gil_m on here.

Remember its your bike ..nobody elses...you do what you want

Ernie

 

[al-onestare]

Something custom as IMO that colour and finish just doesn't do that frame justice.

Carl.

I agree. I'm not sure what happened in 1998 but for me Kona had a :? moment because their colour range that year is pretty pants; especially when 1997 was pretty colourful.

Even though that's a very similar blue to the 97 CC, for me it just doesn't work with the red and white graphics.

Maybe go with a sky blue pearl finish?

 

[Ernie]

Something custom as IMO that colour and finish just doesn't do that frame justice.

Carl.

I agree. I'm not sure what happened in 1998 but for me Kona had a :? moment because their colour range that year is pretty pants; especially when 1997 was pretty colourful.

Even though that's a very similar blue to the 97 CC, for me it just doesn't work with the red and white graphics.

Maybe go with a sky blue pearl finish?

+1..further to my last post..colours were bland :? ..if you have a look around this site there are some very "inspiring" colourways/paint schemes as well if you were going to go down that route

Ernie

 

[Anthony]

This one had a lot more chips than yours when I bought it, but nobody has ever noticed the repairs I did. On the other hand, the 1998 paintwork is very fragile and you would find it difficult to keep it in its repaired state. So I think it all boils down to whether you like the colour. If you don't, change it. Personally I would stick to 1998 decals though.

 

[shaun]

That looks very nice indeed, you have done a good job there. What type of paint and colour/code did you use to achieve such a good match. This may be the way I go also!

 

[misteroo]

Just touch up the bad bits and replace the bad decals courtesy of Gil.

The decals on mine were in a terrible state, so I got a nice set of "zesty" (cheers Ernie ) ones done. Made such a difference.

 

[muffle]

I'd say go for the complete re-spray!

 

[LeeDevelopment]

I'm going to join the re-spray brigade, if you really feel that it's going to be a keeper and by hell an 853 frame is going to outlive you if you look after it...... then yeah, treat it to a re-spray and get it built. I'm a sucker for re-sprays, I've had several done to the same frames over the years, never once looked back.

 

[We_are_Stevo]

I voted 'Leave as is...' even though with my 853 Explosif, when I couldn't decide myself, I took it to the powder coaters and had it left 'raw' with metalflake clearcoat...

I will get it built up eventually - but now I can't decide on the fork/wheelset combo... :roll:

...and my 'Saracen' seems to have taken precedence :!: