Choosing paint for a custom - builder's choice?

[pakora]

I have a custom bike on the way, and I'm not much of a visual aesthete. On the other hand, I agree with e.g. Jan Heine (and the artisan builders who make bikes that are beautiful instead of just painting them) that you generally want your custom bike to be beautiful.

I'm thinking of going with the builder's selection. What are your experiences with that?

I know for my current road bike, I never would have picked the colors - yellow and black - and yet what I ended up with by the time I got it dialed with components I had on hand (black stem/bar/post, white saddle/tape), over time I've thought, "my bike's sharp." It's probably because it's my bike. My buddy has a brown, black and chrome car and I thought, "you paid extra to pick that?" But I have a brown, black and chrome mtb and again, "my bike's sharp."

Similarly, I've seen paint from this builder and in general that in words not only would I never have picked but were quite the opposite of what I think I'd like (e.g. gloss white with plain red decals; metallic teal to yellow fade) and they were hott bikes. I generally find the crazy schemes from builders like Rock Lobster and Landshark to be appealing too, so it seems like with builder's choice, I have little to lose.

[Steve in SLO]

You might consider a middle road: Talk to the builder and let him know you talents do not include paint schemes and discuss with him what your likes and dislikes are. Then let him come up with a proposed scheme. If it sounds OK to you, let him at it. You may find you have a tweak or two that make it personal to you.
The big danger of letting him have full freedom is you may discover, at great expense, what you DON'T lke.

[bambam]

on my customs I let the builder know what my component choices were and told him a basic color and that I like contrast.

He urged me to narrow it down a bit until we had come together on a decision.

Some painters may shy away from being the sole decision maker so be prepared.

Like you I like the non-conventional schemes as well but with mine I was looking for a older conventional style.

Good luck and lets see it when you get it.

[pakora]

Ah, I was taking that for granted in the builder's choice scenario. Telling them basically my OP, and give them even a few examples of bikes I've seen that I thought were attractive and my general aesthetics.

Good point to discuss it specifically though.

[Len J]

It depends on the builder or the painter.

Some have great taste, some not so much. IMO, I would never let landshardk select my paint.....some love his paint, which is great, but not me. YMMV....color and design is very personal.

I think you should at least tell them what you like and what you don't like and any general instructions.

When I got my Kirk, I told Joe Bell I wanted Candy Apple Red, I wanted a cream head tube and seat panel and I loved subtlty....I wanted something that the more you looked the more you saw....then I let him get creative with his talent.....he knocked the ball out of the park.

I think too many custom buyers go overboard with the paint in an effort to "be unique", forgetting they have to live with the bike for a long time. IMO, simple is best,

Good luck

Len

[MattTuck]

For inspiration, check out the Color Ideas Thread (http://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=123502), or add to it if you have any bikes that you really like.

I've heard both good and bad stories about giving a painter wide latitude with design.

I could get all psychological now, and tell you how as the number of options increases (and it's pretty much infinite with paint), your brain becomes less happy as it has to make constant trade offs and that takes mental energy.
People with no choice, tend to do ok. I wish I had the citations for the studies I'm describing, but the point is this: You could rack your mind for months trying to come up with the best color scheme. Or you could avoid thinking about it altogether and let the painter make a decision based on their experience.

I like the middle ground. Give the painter some broad advice on either color pallet or design elements that you want and let them be creative.


Good luck. we want pictures.

[Bob Ross]

I would never let landshardk select my paint.....

I love you, man.