Originally Posted by
Sturuss
I am thinking about what to do with my 1973 Italian bike. Should I strip and repaint like I have seen in some beautiful photos posted by BF members?
Is it better to just clean it up and leave the old chipped and scratched paint and rust? Is that more authentic?
Is it Ok to touch up the paint to prevent more rust and make it look better without repainting?
I would like the opinions of the C&V Subforum. Thanks in advance for any advice.
Firstly; it's your bike so you can do whatever you want with it.
Having said that, the C&V enthusiasts tend to value original paint and patina over flash new paint jobs. The mantra is 'it's only original once'.
There's obviously a point where the original finish isn't doing it's job of preventing rust, so you may decide to give it a new coat if touching up is too extensive.