Beautiful Bikes, Ideas and Inspirations

I've pretty well decided how to proceed on the Proteus resto. I am going with wet paint, and because I am a maniac I will attempt doing it myself. This is slightly less deranged than powdercoating it myself and much less crazy than attempting to replate it myself which would surely turn the neighborhood into a toxic wasteland. Painting is completely reversible in this context. It can always be replated, repainted or powdercoated by a pro.

In a previous post I went looking for inspiration which I found in the form of this beautiful JP Weigle work. Those colors are delicious and I love the way the shorelines of the lugs are handled. It makes most lug lining look crude and inelegant. Scope the detail on that brake bridge. (as always click to embiggen)

The overall effect isn't so bad either. Just a beautifully conceived paint scheme superbly executed.

But that is a JP Weigle a great American framesmith, sure, but not the great American framesmith who built mine. Is that scheme appropriate for a Proteus, did they ever do anything like that. These are custom bikes so there's plenty of room for variation, but it would still be best to stay in character with the marque.

Then I came across this. The two-tone on the fork legs doesn't wow me, there's no natural line there with the Proteus sloping crown. Do the whole fork in white and a lot of things start going right.

Now, I've got ideas. I'm thinking Red. Yes, the kind of red that gets capitalized, "Red" red. Maybe like Ferarri red, maybe lipstick, maybe fire engine. Maybe the color of red a Ferrari uses for lipstick before going on a date with a fire engine. And white. White to bounce it off of. Maybe not a stark white, though it makes for good contrast and would be period correct, but perhaps a bit ivory for a more classic look. Hmmm. These things require thought and playing with paint and samples.

More awesome shorelines. And the more I look at that the more I am committing myself to a very ambitious job that I may yet chicken out on. Of course I will keep the business card of a local powdercoater and a Benjamin handy in case anything goes wrong. Powdercoat isn't beautiful but it is always pretty darned good and functional. I can live with functional, but then brilliant remains taunting and compelling. It tasks me.

In the meanwhile, I'm sanding away rust and prepping a surface. Beauty demands dog work. Damn shame, but you know what, anybody, even I can learn and do dog work. That's a beautiful thing in itself.