What to do to the old paint..?

So I picked up a 60's CB track/path frame with what looks like the original paint. It has lots of little chips on the rear triangle where the chain must has jumped of over the years. There is no rust.
Now, I've been told that under no circumstances should I have it refinished.

If I never ride the bike in the wet then I guess I could leave it as is but it just doesn't look good.

If I T-cut the frame am I meant to miss the decals..?

Does anyone think it is ok to refinish as long as you stick to the original scheme..?

Bit stuck here, help...!

And why shouldn't you have it refinished or repainted? It's your bloody bike after all! If you don't like the little chips then get it repainted, or use a stone-chip bottle to fill in the chips.

When T-Cutting, yes you should avoid the decals. A swipe over them here and there won't hurt them, but rubbing it over them might, depending on what type of decal it is.

When T-Cutting, do it with a damp cloth, or use a water mister bottle to wet the frame as you go along. Then you'll need to apply a wax of some sort to protect the finish - Turtle Wax in the green tin is very cheap and does an excellent job.

original paint is usially way toigher and will stand up to hits better. decals are sometimes hard to find. either touch up with colour enamel or clear.

'way tougher'? Way tougher than what? Paint from a rattle can? Yes. Cellulose? Yes 2pk? No. Enamel? No. Powdercoat? No.

I am in two minds about this, I agree that yes its your bike so do what you like,
But if it were my bike I would rather keep the original paint unless it was an absolute wreck or so common that it didnt matter but especially on something slightly unusual, original is always best.
Plus I like the look of worn but original bikes, you can see they're old and they get ridden and in my minds that makes them look a bit more characterful than something with a flawless paint job?
Obviously, down to you man but if it was me id just leave it and enjoy the bike. also it saves time and money and you wont be so worried about blemishes as you would with a spotless finish.

Clean it up as much as you can, then framesave it and clearcoat it if you want to keep the original paint.

the clearcoat should be enough to prevent the bare part from rusting.

'way tougher'? Way tougher than what? Paint from a rattle can? Yes. Cellulose? Yes 2pk? No. Enamel? No. Powdercoat? No.

tougher than everything bar powder coat, but then u have rocks in ur head if you just powder coat a vintage frame

the coolest look this week is the 'rust rocket' look,
you have to leave the stripped frame outdoors for two years to achieve it, then build up with full Campy Record groupset, giving the distressed look with bling contrast. So hard to get, but so desirable.

Enamel? No.

enamel is a lots weaker nowadays than in the past due to heath and safety, so an old frame is actually a lots tougher than you'd think.

Clean it up as much as you can, then framesave it and clearcoat it if you want to keep the original paint.

the clearcoat should be enough to prevent the bare part from rusting.

what do you mean by 'framesave it'..?

And the clear coat is something a professional would do, right.?

Not sure how good they are though.

what do you mean by 'framesave it'..?

And the clear coat is something a professional would do, right.?

Im not sure about what exactly framesave is but clear coating can be done yourself, it really depends howm uch you value the bike. if you think its worth it, and you want to get it clear coated, get someone to do it, it shouldnt be astronomical and it will undoubtedly look better than a DIY job but you can get rattle can clear metal sealer or lacquer which provides a clear rust proof coat.
down to you!

Aye, once again LFGSS to the rescue. Thanks very much gentlemen.

I'm gonna go for the framesave and get someone, maybe Mario to clear coat it.
Or just Tcut, polish and not ride in the rain.

Thanks..

I'm in the same boat with you, got a lovely Holdsworth path racer whose paintjob is faded but lovely, but the headtube need replacing as it's too worn out and may need new lug, also the fork is slighty bent by a millimetre, but decided to get it repair and clearcoat it, keeping the paintjob despite the unpainted headtube and lug.

sometime I feel it's worth keeping the original paintjob, unless it's really bad and the best thing to do is to get it restored to it's original paintjob.

A few years back I was in Witcombs to see what they thought of an old Holdsworth I had.
What ensued next was this big discussion between old I'm guessing Ernie and a couple of other old fella's. One was dead against destroying original paint and preffered gentle renovation and another said 'hey, if you're going to love this old frame and more importantly ride it then if you repaint it is neither here nor there.
I guess if its a super rare frame then 'gentle restoration' is best but other less important frames..? Well you've gotta like the way it looks..

Aye, once again LFGSS to the rescue. Thanks very much gentlemen.

I'm gonna go for the framesave and get someone, maybe Mario to clear coat it.
Or just Tcut, polish and not ride in the rain.

Thanks..

I hope you dont mind me saying, but clear coating would be very sensible! just not riding in the rain isnt enough to keep moisture off of exposed metal, moisture is all in the air and theres enough to oxidise the metal so youll still get rust unless its clear coated.

One was dead against destroying original paint and preffered gentle renovation and another said 'hey, if you're going to love this old frame and more importantly ride it then if you repaint it is neither here nor there.
I guess if its a super rare frame then 'gentle restoration' is best but other less important frames..? Well you've gotta like the way it looks..

Yeah, its tough isnt it!
but then again, rare frames, for some reason, usually look great, but if it looks like shit then the paint jobs probably too far gone if that makes sense?

Glad that youre keeping and protecting the original paint though!

I'll have to get some pictures up..

You must, that frame sound interesting.

[grumpy] Enamel is not tougher than 2pk acrylic. I used to be a painter, I know these things. [/grumpy]

Some pictures here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/downlo70/sets/72157623604520148/

I've tried to include all of the paint damage..

i'd leave it and ride it

Actually it look a lots better than I expect it to be, I though it was in a very sorry state as if it been outside all it's life.

In fact, it's in a much better condition than a 2 years old frame even.

The headbadge is in great nick too;

How do you do that..??
How do you get the pictures on the screen..?

How do you do that..??
How do you get the pictures on the screen..?

look at the box where you write this down, see the little picture frame? put the picture link in there.

i'd leave it and ride it

so would I and here is my 2c worth:

Don't get it powdercoated cus 1 thing the companies dont tell you is that baked on polyester does not last much morethan 8 years before uv makes it hard enough to crack off in chunks. And they never bother with a primer because 'you don't need it'.
Im guessing the paint finish you have now is a bit older than 8 years and has a certain value through its originality. That said, its up to you if you want togo with something brand new.
A careful touch up job is the best thing to do if you want to spend money and keep the most value.
Personally I wouldnt even clearcoat it as this would make it harder to renovate the original paintwork in the future if this is what you want to do.
All i would do is clean it up with parrafin and rub a greasy rag over it from time to time. Make sure you dont let it stay wet any longer than it has to. Also pay attention to your seat post and handlebar stem. Take them out of the frame every 6 months or so and coat them with either copper grease (best) or ordinary grease (good enough).
And above all don't listen to anyone who tells you you have to throw money at it immediately or it will crumble to dust.