I dunno, since putting the fancy schmancy wheels on the $200.00 bike I notice the scapes and dings in the paint more.

I could do the whole patch it up by hand thing: clean the bike then use the finest steel wool and sand paper till every bit of rust is off, smooth that and get every speck of dust out, search for exact matching paint, apply with teeny tiny itsy bitsy paint brush, methodicly smooth that by hand....but I'd rather ride.

My LBS says he can have it powder coated localy for around $150-175.00. He wants me to go with a black fork and deep purple paint job, accessorised by Pedro under the seat bag to pick up just a hint of yellow on the Mavic logos. so I just may do that this winter.

Sorry to go OT and or controversial but this is yet another reason I like my LBS; these two very very straight men, the owner and his chief wrench, both lovingly and happily married with kids have more aesthetic sense than almost any Gay man I know (except garden designer Jim Dixon ), even their shop makeover was absolutely faaaabulous.