Ive searched, and didn't find a thread here or in restoration, so I wonder if one can be made.

I know it might be pains taking, but with all the knowledge, from Pro racers, too little ol riders like me, I think we really need a thread thats dedicated/and maybe locked on top, showing what are REAL , and what are REPOP stickers. REAL SE, Profile, Redline, Moongoose, Hutch, JMC, Race INC , etc, next too RePop.

I very much understand that its almost imposible too find REAL stickers for our old school rebuilds, but it would be nice if we had something too compair REAL Vs REPOP stickers. I understand most who sell stickers here are very upfront with what IS real, and whats Repop, but there are many others away from this great site, who arent as honest.

Thanks,
Bill

[ January 05, 2007, 08:59 PM: Message edited by: Surf911S ]

if the seller says its real and its 20+ years old and you get it home stick on your scoot and it doesnt stick than it was real...

Or if you buy a set of NOS decals and they fade out in 6 mo they were repops . if they kept there color for 20 + yrs its not gonna fade in 6 mo.

Ya, I understand all of that. It would just be nice too have a data base of some sort, for stickers, and maybe beyond that with seats, frames, forks, pads, cranks, heads sets, etc.Then maybe people can know whats real, and whats fake, before you pick it up/buy it too take it home.

unfortunately...

if you post nice hi-res scans of original decals, especially rare ones, somebody will inevitably take the scans to produce repops.

such is life.

if/when you are thinking of purchasing a decal, spend as much time looking at the backing and overall condition of the decal as you would the decal itself. old decals look old. if the decal and backing look brand new, it probably is.

Ted Carl started a thread a couple of months back about this exact thing. The thread went south in a hurry and got deleted.

Buyer beware and don't be afraid to ask questions of the sellers or anyone that can help, for that matter, before buying decals.

Tim is right, unfortunately, in trying to help others by showing the differences in the originals vs the repops, I think some people will inevitabley use it against us as well. By improving the re-pops and getting rid of the differences.

The only thing that could be argued with what Tim said, is that, if you post an original and a re-pop side by side, then obviously there already is a re-pop....so, it's not like you've given them the ammo to make a fresh new re-pop. Only improve on it, ...if it's a good scan. Anything posted online is usually not better than 800x600 resolution. But... that could very well be all they need to make a better re-pop.

Damaging the scan with a watermark might be enough to make the idea work though. Maybe we'll try it again someday using a bold watermark or something? Not today though.... I'm not even sure how to add a watermark, so therein lies another fly in that ointment.....

T

Pay close attention to original decals that are still on the bike. If yours doesn't have any decals left, check someone else's, look on eBay, look around. A lot of repo decals look great and get the job done but they always leave out some details that are difficult to replicate. Personally, I don't build bikes but someone who does is going to be looking for decal replacements, original or not. Battle scars and damaged or missing decals really are not a problem to me. Original decals found still in place, regardless of condition, are a bonus in my opinion. Look closely at spacing between letters, thickness of lines or fonts, texture, and other details big or small. For example, here are some original KOS decals in which you can see texture, etc.