Oh No; I May Have Succumbed To The Lure Of Patina.

So I got my classic / vintage BMX bike this week and its in good shape for a 43 year old bike but it occurred to me I might want to fully restore it.

Then it occurred to me that I should keep it as is.  

Earlier in the year a fellow racer said he like my 1200 becuase it had nice patina. I've always been wanting to clean it up but now I find myself thinking I should leave everything unrestored. 

I fear I may be succumbing to the lure of patina.

Great band name!

I don't like cutting through original paint and primer. I prefer a ratty original paint job.

Faux-tina, not so much.

Woody (Forum Supportum) said:

Faux-tina, not so much.

Amen to that, my friend!!!

Say it again!!!

03Panther said:

Woody (Forum Supportum) said:

Faux-tina, not so much.

Amen to that, my friend!!!

Say it again!!!

I dislike faux-tina as well. 

Maybe if I had something as cool as Alain De Cadenet's Alfa I'd be really into it. 

My innate cheapness as well as being relatively lazy is partly why it's starting to appeal to me.

I do like that my vintage BMX bike has it.

I thought every one dislikes it. Yet ya still see it done. 
I don't think the line between patina and junky is well defined. Seems to be "I knows it when's I sees it" kinda thing!

There is absolutely nothing dumber than a clear coat over patina. I don't mind patina as long as it's honest.  Otherwise, no.  Make it pretty.

I am fine with faded/worn paint. Maybe even surface rust. I can't stand holes.

Thing is, patina doesn't stay patina long where I live.  It usually skips patina and heads straight to holes.

In reply to SkinnyG (Forum Supporter) :

Hence the clear coat Streetwise hates.

Leave the bike. 

This evening I showed the Porsche with the bike on top at Radwood. I left all the patina on the bike, plus the legit 1980s dirt.

People seemed to dig the originality of the whole thing. 

Do these collected  vintage build bikes generally get ridden? Or are they just show pieces? 

Even back in the 80s, Huey Lewis knew patina was cool.

Another example:

I am going to a bit of trouble to make my 97 M edition Miata original, but "unrestored"

I understand the dislike of faux tina, but I like it all. Maybe it is my inherant laziness. To each their own.

I've been seriously wanting an old PK Ripper...

...but they command a cost almost equivalent to what I paid for my car! LOL

wheelsmithy (Joe-with-an-L) said:

Even back in the 80s, Huey Lewis knew patina was cool.

 

 

 

 

There's something besides patina going on with that car, but I haven't quite figured it out yet.
 

It might be a kit, or it might be a hacked up coupe-ster.

That's not a Speedster.  

In reply to Woody (Forum Supportum) :

Hacked up Ghia turned into a clone. 

In reply to Captdownshift (Forum Supporter) :

Hmmm, hadn't noticed, but now that you mention it, I do see the ALF-like nostrils down low in the front.

TJL (Forum Supporter) said:

Do these collected  vintage build bikes generally get ridden? Or are they just show pieces? 

Both.

I don't ride my old bikes–the top tubes are way short, and the dropouts are really thin. I'm also just way more comfortable on my modern S&M. 

A bunch of old bikes recently got ridden (hard) at the Frogtown Classic. 

In reply to David S. Wallens :

I absolutely ride mine and I will be keeping as is, right down to the old tires.

I clean dirt off of my Falcon with a sanding pad.  

In reply to Tom1200 :

Rock on. A while back, I took my DK for a ride. I pinged a friend after: Did we really used to ride 19.5-inch top tubes?

In reply to David S. Wallens :

I'm only 5' 7" and yeah I can't believe we rode these as well.

In reply to Tom1200 :

I need to measure the top tube on my Team Mongoose. It's smol.

In reply to David S. Wallens :

You didn't happen to take on Cru Jones at Helltrack back in the day, did you?

In reply to Appleseed :

No, sadly, I'm not in his league. I did once see him in real life, though.