Gimletbikes
Finally riding a big boys bike
A friend asked me for advice on restoring his childhood 1948 Schwinn. His father bought it for him new when he was 12 years old. He rode it into adulthood and then as his kids grew up they rode it hard, too. It's saturated with good memories and stories for him and his daughter. It seems like they really have a desire to see it shine like when it was new. I'd love to help them out, but I'm not sure how to best go about it. I'm not sure that resale value is the #1 motivator in this case.
I asked a friend and local bicycle collector for his advice and he thought that we should maybe try to keep it original to retain its value. He said that repainting it could render it less valuable. Polishing, re-chroming some parts and careful touching up may be as far as we should go. The rust and corrosion in the painted areas has us thinking that repainting could be appropriate in this case.
I'd love to hear how you think we should preserve it so that it can become a nice heirloom for future generations of his family.
Thanks!
I asked a friend and local bicycle collector for his advice and he thought that we should maybe try to keep it original to retain its value. He said that repainting it could render it less valuable. Polishing, re-chroming some parts and careful touching up may be as far as we should go. The rust and corrosion in the painted areas has us thinking that repainting could be appropriate in this case.
I'd love to hear how you think we should preserve it so that it can become a nice heirloom for future generations of his family.
Thanks!