Originally Posted by
Macybaby
hehe -I don't like the "new" finishes on most new stuff LOL!! So I for sure wouldn't care for it on the old stuff.
My biggest pet peave is to see someone brag about "restoring" on old cabinet - and they slopped a coat of Polyurathine on it.
I definitely go along with restoring vs re-making with wood. The wood IS both what you see and what you don't. It's integral with the finish. For me the machine is different. It's beauty is derived from the metal, the ingenuity of it's workings and it's metalwork. The coating on it is, for me, a separate piece of artwork...totally different from the art of the metalwork. In fact, I enjoy the metalwork much more than the artwork of it's coating, even new, let alone when it is washed out. Personally, I might even like a bare-metal with clearcoat finish old machine better than with a basic black finish with no real crafted artwork on it, and definitely better than washed-out artwork. The beauty of the metal machine would be so pronounced and visible with a good clearcoat. I know, I know ... a bunch of people disagree with me.
Well, it's not like I don't like the artwork, which is why I would replace the original worn-out work with meticulously hand-painted reproduction of the original, if it was nice.
I just see the machine something like I do land. The beauty of the land is inherent and permanent (more of less), just like that of the dated metal machine. If one puts a nice house on it, it can enhance the beauty of the land, but will never out-do a truly beautiful piece of land.
WHEN the house gets decrepit, it detracts from the beauty of the land. If its design was of inherent beauty and features, and it was built using fine, quality materials which could be restored to near original beauty, then great...restore it. If it wasn't anything special, or it did not make use of quality materials or it cannot be restored except as to produce a mere semblance of it's original beauty, then if you have the money, tear the old thing down, and build a new magnificent work of art upon the beautiful landscape for this generation and those in the future to enjoy as much as the last house was enjoyed by it's builders and their progeny. If you really liked the original design better than one you can come up with now, then duplicate the old one...down to the last scintilla.
Again, like in my original post, I make the point of saying..."at least that's how I see it."
