Decals....What would you do?

[Spiderweb]

I’ve owned my Orbit Thompson for about 30 years. I swapped it for a Raleigh Pioneer I had just bought for £40, a female Work colleague wanted a flat bar rather than a drop bar bike, I thought it was a great deal and I have loved the bike ever since.

I think the bike was around 5-6 years old when I got it so presume it dates from 84/85.

Anyway as you can see from the pics the bike still looks pretty good from a distance, the issue is the decals, they have cracked and moved.
I can buy new decals, exact replicas from H Lloyd but what would you do?
Leave the bike original as is or replace the decals?
How do you remove them, they don’t seem to be lacquered over and I presume they may be water slide type?

Your advice is much appreciated.

 

[RichardB]

Try:

1. Heat (hair dryer, not heat gun) and the edge of a credit card
2. Swab with meths and a soft cloth
3. Ditto with white spirit
4. Heat from a heat gun, but used with great caution.

If those fail, then I think you'll have to try something physical. I'd start with 0000 wire wool* used very gently to start with, and work up. You need to take care of that paint, though - it looks good. I'd be almost certain that there is a layer of lacquer on there, but perhaps it has weathered over the decals and disappeared. The wire wool will sort that out.

*i.e. very fine, the very opposite of a Brillo pad.

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

My inclination would be to very carefully remove the ST and DT decals (not the 531 ones obviously!) give it a polish/lacquer, and run it without replacement decals. The paint is a lovely colour and would look great unadorned.

 

[weareHKR]

Micro Sol

 

[jowwy]

I’ve owned my Orbit Thompson for about 30 years. I swapped it for a Raleigh Pioneer I had just bought for £40, a female Work colleague wanted a flat bar rather than a drop bar bike, I thought it was a great deal and I have loved the bike ever since.

I think the bike was around 5-6 years old when I got it so presume it dates from 84/85.

Anyway as you can see from the pics the bike still looks pretty good from a distance, the issue is the decals, they have cracked and moved.
I can buy new decals, exact replicas from H Lloyd but what would you do?
Leave the bike original as is or replace the decals?
How do you remove them, they don’t seem to be lacquered over and I presume they may be water slide type?

Your advice is much appreciated.

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That’s a stunning machine

 

[Spiderweb]

That’s a stunning machine

Thank you.
What would you do with the decals?
I’ve been offered great advice so far, thank you all but I’m now thinking it seems like quite an effort with the risk of damaging the original paint finish which after a T Cut and polish is looking good.
I’m thinking of maybe leaving as is now?

 

[jowwy]

Thank you.
What would you do with the decals?
I’ve been offered great advice so far, thank you all but I’m now thinking it seems like quite an effort with the risk of damaging the original finish which after a T Cut and polish is looking good.
I’m thinking of maybe leaving as is now?

I’m with the leave it as is camp.......it’s stunning right now

 

[wafter]

That's a lovely looking bike and a score for sure if swapped straight for a Pioneer!

I'm ambivalent about the sticker situation; but being lazy and having a much easier time accepting imperfections through the ravages of time rather than those caused by myself, I'd be inclined to leave it as it is. If you think you might want to redo the stickers in the future you could always order some just in case.

IMO leave it alone and if it gets unbearably tatty remove the stickers and run it without. Given how they've degraded I doubt it'd take a lot to get them off; I'd caution against any abrasives though and look more towards softer scrapers, such as an old credit card.

 

[midlife]

Smart . The most I would do is touch up some of the black on the decal letters with red to make it less obvious from a distance. Mind you from a distance it's not that obvious

 

[rogerzilla]

Leave it until it needs a respray.

 

[Vantage]

On an otherwise perfectly gorgeous bike, I'd want to try removing those decals and replace. I've recently done that with my own but mines not a classic like yours so do it carefully. Try the hairdryer to loosen the stickers first. If that fails, ask a bike painter/sprayer specialist if they can do anything.

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

I generally find decals are not hard to remove if they've got to the tatty stage where they are beginning to come unstuck by themselves. I've removed several of them without causing collateral paint damage. You just need to be restrained and careful in the approach to the job. They usually need a little help from a hydrocarbon solvent, ideally starting with white spirit as it isn't as drastic as paint thinners can be.

 

[Gunk]

Personally I’d leave it as it is, sometimes when they’re over restored and repainted they lose their charm.

I like an immaculate drivetrain with an original patinated frame. @biggs682 has some lovely bikes where the frames are untouched.

 

[Spiderweb]

Personally I’d leave it as it is, sometimes when they’re over restored and repainted they lose their charm.

I like an immaculate drivetrain with an original patinated frame. @biggs682 has some lovely bikes where the frames are untouched.

The drivetrain and components are in really good order, I think I’m minded to leave the patina and enjoy as is.

 

[biggs682]

Original decals and paintwork only happens once .

It wouldn't worry me but it will others , I prefer patina over sparkle every time.