I've just read-up from the beginning, this is all ringing very true to me right now. I bought a 91 PM a couple months ago, my powder coater is having a mare re-doing the forks & stem etc for me.
Yours looks great & is a pretty good Zolatone substitute, I must say. Prepare yourself for the...
I'm after a Marin quill stem, with the fr brake roller, 11/8" please, not too long but come at me with what you have. Any condition as it will be paint matched. UK
Maybe throw up some pics. Showing number of tooth picks etc.
I have a SRAM mech of sorts kicking about, it's NOS I think but been unsuccessful selling it. If the jockeys are useful, you are welcome to it for spares. PM me if interested & I'll root it out.
Here is a couple examples of the work my local coaters have done for me. A fillet brazed custom Thorn MTB frame in anthracite grey. And a Cannondale CAAD4 road bike frame which was pretty doggy & corroded under the old, flaking paint. That was done in white & I had a vehicle spray shop spray...
Agree, they make no sense upon initial fiddling, but once setup they feel & work nicely. And if anything is not correct with the setup/cable routing you will have no joy (I would imagine). Plenty of YouTube vids for help (I watched a few)
I actually share the sentiments of the OP. Powder can be awful & it is well suited for park gates benches. I would never PC a valuable frame I don't think, but I do have a fantastic powder coating business nearby. I used them a fair few times now & the finish is always fantastic.