I recently scored a free 1974 Deelite Apollo 10 speed. As far as I can tell, it has all original parts, but most of the stickers have faded out and there are a few places where the paint has failed completely on the tubes.
As a project bike, would you consider stripping and painting the frame, or simply replace what needs done (tires, bar tape) and ride it as is?
Do whatever you want! It’s yours to enjoy
👆This. It’s not going to affect this particular bike’s value too much in either direction. If you think the paint prep is worth the effort then go for it!
From a practical standpoint, you might want to consider at least cleaning up any exposed steel and applying a little clear coat.
Hah, true enough! I knew of course that this was the only right answer, but still enjoy hearing what other folks would do in such situations.
Well if you think you’ll have occasion to leave it locked up places, it might be an advantage for it to look old and beat up.
…do you like how it looks or do you not like how it looks?
My take: Ride as is if you can stand it, but there’s no wrong answer.
I powder-coated a Motobecane of similar age and I don’t regret it. The original paint job with hand-painted details must have been great, but decades of sun, rain, and neglect obliterated it. Restoration would have been starting over from scratch so I sandblasted and turned it into an electric blue beast of burden.
Somebody else can restore the original paint job 50 years from now. I’m just keeping the frame safe for them until they’re done being born and growing up somewhere. It’ll be waiting for them when they’re ready.
Cheap powdercoating is one of my favourite things about steel frames. I can get a frame sand blasted and powdercoated for $150CAD. I ride my bike until the paint is damaged and I’m starting to get a bit of rust in spots- then pick a wild new colour, get some decals made and just like that I have a brand new looking bike.
That multicolor combo is amazing! Makes me wish I had more separate parts to paint when I coated mine.
You probably need to at least touch up the bare metal, to prevent or stop rust
