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For sure - what’s considered ‘acceptable’ with regards to the durability of paint will obviously vary from person to person.
I think the main thing that a lot of people are unaware of is that handmade bikes of this type and the paint that’s applied to them is not the same as what you’d get on a mass produced bike with a factory paint finish - the paint products used in the by the majority of the big factories in the Far East are horrendously nasty chemicals, both for the environment, and the person applying them, and as such are illegal in the EU due to their impact on the environment and user. I paint bikes for a living, and even if these products were available over here, I still wouldn’t use them because of how damaging they are not only to myself, but more importantly the environment.
So yeah, factory paint will always be much more durable than a custom / small batch production finish, but that’s the trade off you have to make if you want a more unique and technically involved paint job like you get with a custom finish.
Dont get me wrong, I fully understand your point of view and that it must be pretty frustrating, but fact of the matter is that hand made bikes of this type will always need to be treated with a bit more care than a standard factory bike painted in the Far East.
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Saffronspokes
There's quite a few more on the fork, which I'll photograph properly for anyone thinking of buying. I guess people's definition of wear and tear differs. This is by far the newest of the 4 bikes in our household and it's the only one with any marks or chips. The others are all immaculate despite being much older and ridden much more. I think that's the main frustration, maybe that's just par for the course of nice paint.