Opinion, Paint this Rupp or leave it....

#1
Just getting time to work on this Scrambler I bought last fall. It's the Holy Grail for me as it's a twin to the bike I got for Christmas as a 12 year old.

Crazy original bike. Someone added a kill switch and the previous owner told me his cousin [the original owner] added a Roadster exhaust when it was a year old. Even still had the original Dayco/Rupp belt.

I rebuilt the original diaphragm carb with no sucess. It started and idled like a dream but would not run off idle. Soooo I slamed a Chinese carb on and it runs like a champ.

Here is today's question, Should I repaint everything and replace all the decals or leave it alone. It is 100% original paint except for the tank which got spray canned sometime in the past. Engine ,frame, torque converter cover all original paint and decals.

So your opinion, repaint it all, some, or leave it original? Thanks.
 

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Ding Ding

Well-Known Member
#4
Over the years I've really grown to appreciate and prefer original bikes. They are only original once. That bike earned those scuffs and corrosion over it's 50 years of life. It would be a shame remove it in my opinion. It gives it character!

Now, sometimes a bike is so far gone or someone else has already compromised the look where recoating it is the most appropriate path forward. I am in that situation right now with a bike I recently got that was spray painted blue and primer grey, but is supposed to be black. It also requires a little bit of metal work to repair the kick stand mount that often fails on these Arctic Cat bikes. It will inevitably be redone in black.

I have had this other bike for a while now. I was originally planning on restoring it. But over time I had second thoughts and finally decided to just clean it and put it back together. I have no regrets.
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Triley41395

Well-Known Member
#5
I'm sure some may not agree with me, but a good wetsand and a professional quality semi gloss clear will also help protect the original paint for the future owners.
 
#9
Here is today's question, Should I repaint everything and replace all the decals or leave it alone. It is 100% original paint except for the tank which got spray canned sometime in the past. Engine ,frame, torque converter cover all original paint and decals.

So your opinion, repaint it all, some, or leave it original? Thanks.
It's your bike, do as you please. I have a good friend that has over 200 bikes in his barn, and as nice as his restored bikes are it's the survivors that get the most attention. Different strokes for different folks. As said, it's only original once. There's a shitload of restored Rupps out there.

I'm sure some may not agree with me, but a good wetsand and a professional quality semi gloss clear will also help protect the original paint for the future owners.
Clear paint, semi gloss or not will make the rust look shiny. No Bueno. The chopper guys spray their junk with WD40 to keep the rust at bay, but you can smell that crap a mile away. I've used silicone spray with great results in the past, it keeps the bare metal from flashing and doesn't shine when dry. Main issue with Silicone spray is it's a bitch to clean off if you ever do want to paint.
 
#10
Over the years I've really grown to appreciate and prefer original bikes. They are only original once. That bike earned those scuffs and corrosion over it's 50 years of life. It would be a shame remove it in my opinion. It gives it character!

Now, sometimes a bike is so far gone or someone else has already compromised the look where recoating it is the most appropriate path forward. I am in that situation right now with a bike I recently got that was spray painted blue and primer grey, but is supposed to be black. It also requires a little bit of metal work to repair the kick stand mount that often fails on these Arctic Cat bikes. It will inevitably be redone in black.

I have had this other bike for a while now. I was originally planning on restoring it. But over time I had second thoughts and finally decided to just clean it and put it back together. I have no regrets.
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Nice mini, but that Sinclair sign. Would you sell that??
 
#12
I think it looks great as it is. I use kerosene or diesel fuel and a rag to remove dirt/grime. It cleans nice and leaves a shine. Pressure washing blows off too much paint/decals. You can always repaint it at a later date if you want, but you can't go back once the original paint is off. I have regretted stripping off original paint on few bikes in the past.
 
#13
If your going to let the grand kids ride it ir if your going to take it off road and stuff leave it its really not that bad i love the survival look. But if you want to show it off with lil to no riding then id have it powder coated its stronger and last longer then paint i just got my powder coating oven set up so i can start and do my frames I've been using a normal house hold oven for years on smaller parts and been building a oven i can do car rims and. Quad frames in now so cant wait to start getting my projects in the oven lol
 

cfh

Well-Known Member
#16
for powder coating i use electric smokers that i bought at Lowes for $200 each. one does not have the depth to do a frame. but i have two of them that i sandwich together (they open clam shell style), and i can do frames that way. Just remove the doors, and make a hinge for the pair. that way i can run it single for smaller stuff, or clam shell them together for a frame.
 
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