How do you guys feel about patina?

I tend to buy bikes that have a lot of Patina, perhaps not as much as the one in the lake that the OP posted, but I enjoy the restoration process as much as I do riding them. It depends entirely on the quality of the remaining finish as to whether I will respray or preserve... in all the bikes I have restored, it is about 50/50. I'd never destroy a beautiful old finish for a bit of patina, but if the finish is gone, a respray preserves the bike and gives it a new lease of life.

Not everyone agrees ! 😄 such is life :)
 
At least bikes don't come with the 'patina' that some classic cars come with in the shape of rats and mouse nests and all their p!ss and cr@p.
Bird poop can also be a really bad thing.

When it comes to patina, I often prefer a bike that already has a few flaws. Then I have fewer inhibitions about riding it properly. Making the first scratches on old things is a pretty high inhibition threshold for me.

Of course, top restored classics are nice to look at, but a mountain bike is still the most fun when you're blasting through the forest on it.

For me, repainting a frame depends not only on the condition of the paint but also on who painted it or whether the paint job itself is a classic like some Mountain Goat, Chance, Brodie or GT and Kuwahara.

I also have one or two frames in progress where I don't yet know what to do with the paint.
Not an easy decision.

Here is some patina for you IMG_20250723_113422.webp IMG_20250723_113523.webp IMG_20250723_113535.webp
 

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