Rat Bikes! Pub Bikes Beaters! Frankenbikes!

The problem is that some modern production bikes have much tougher paint jobs, which is a bitch as I really want my mash to get totally ratted!

And lots have paint that falls off as soon as you look at it.

^^ I'd disagree, if you go back to the 60s or earlier, many of those paint jobs used formulations that included nasty materials that held on tighter than white on rice.

This. I reckon that if what we would call modern bikes are still in one piece in 40-50 years time they will look very very different to how bikes from 40-50 years ago do now.

Sticker it!

Stickers do not a rat make.