Wear And Tear

When I rebuilt my Pinarello Stelvio I had it powder coated. Well that's OK for a Pinarello that never went in for fancy paint jobs but my Basso Loto is beginning to show the wear and tear of common use.

Powder coating a frame means that there are a few things that you have to be informed about if you don't have a Builder's Kit with all the thread chasers and bore cleaners. You have to keep the powder coating off of the bottom bracket threads and the flat surfaces again which the BB shells are going to press. Also the headset bore has to be protected. And chrome parts as well. This makes it difficult to so anything fancy with powder coating that doesn't end up costing more than a good paint job from CycleArt or the like.. Butpowder coating wear like the iron beneath it.

While paint jobs cost ONE HELL OF A LOT. Paint and decals from the local D & D was asking $1,200. That hardly seems justified on a bike that I have $800 invested in. But I supposed if it was your dear heart if might be worth it. They used to do a lot of factory paint jobs from the Santa Cruz mob but they found cheaper sources from China.

Does anyone know a good source of descent multicolor paint jobs here in the USA?