Properly done, a frame's paint should bring out, not hide, the builder's hard work. Those long hours of careful lug preparation, frame filing, polishing with an emery cloth should be showcased and brought out. That's why Torelli frames usually have a single color lovingly applied. We are so very proud of our frames, we don't want any clutter obscuring what we have accomplished.

There is another reason for our conservative approach to paint schemes. Fashion comes and goes, yet the bike remains. Bikes with the flashy paint jobs of only a few years ago look old and dated. Yet, look at a beautiful red or green bike made a decade ago and it still looks fresh and new if it has been cared for. That is what we want to make. Beautiful bikes whose beauty lasts and transcends mere style.

Our paint options vary from frame to frame. The first major difference is: is the frame painted in Italy, or in the U.S.? The following explanation will make the colors available explanation on our web pages easier to understand.

Italian Paint. Some of our frames are painted in Italy. For a few models, this is the only option. Italian paint is not as well done as American paint, but it does offer a couple of advantages. The colors are generally stronger because some pigments unavailable in the U.S. are used in Italy. Italian paint is also cheaper. Because we use several paint shops in Italy, and they are not always responsive to our exact wishes, there is a large amount of variation in color. If you desire a frame to be painted in a particular Italian color, the wait can be up to 5 months because of the long lead time in ordering a frame. The frame must be built, then painted, then transported to the U.S. We are happy to do this. It requires a non-refundable payment in full with an understanding that the time can be long and the results beautiful, but inexact.

Typically, we have frames painted in blue and candy red with Italian paint.

American Paint. We paint with DuPont Imron. We have negotiated with our painter the ability to have our frames painted in eleven different colors. The colors you are seeing on the screen are only an APPROXIMATION of the colors we paint. Different computer monitors have different color palettes available making exact color display impossible.

We try to have a selection of each model on our shelves painted in a stock, ready to go color. In the summer, when the high season is upon us, this can be difficult. Many of our frames are available with either Italian or American paint. The American painted option on these dual-option frames costs more, usually about $150.00 extra.

If the 11 colors we offer are not satisfactory, we can paint a frame, whose stock specification is an American paint job, in any DuPont Imron color for an additional charge. We can only paint in Imron, using Imron colors. Colors selected from PPG paints or other paint manufacturers or car colors cannot be used. Many bike shops have Imron charts because it is the paint choice of most high-end builders.

If you desire a complex or special paint job, we have a form that can be faxed to you or your store. With that in hand, we can give the shop an accurate price quotation.

Turnaround time for paint is about three weeks, but it can stretch to four weeks in the high season. We are extremely happy to send a frame to be painted in any of the eleven colors above instead of one of the stock shelf colors. There is no price difference between a stock "shelf" American color and any one of the other ten colors. We ask only that you be a bit patient so that we can do it right.

White is available, but because it is difficult to do correctly, it entails an extra charge.

Decals. Torelli and Mondonico frames both have several decal colors available. You can specify the decal color you want, or let us pick the one we think is the best. Here are photos of the Torelli and Mondonico decal colors available:

Black with gold keyline				Red with black keyline
Yellow with black keyline				White with black keyline
Yellow with black keyline			Black with gold keyline			White with black keyline

Touch-up paint. Because of the reformulation of frame paint to comply with Southern California air quality regulations, we can no longer supply a touch-up paint that will harden at room temperature. We've found that the following Testor's enamel colors (available at any hobby shop) match our American paint colors fairly well:

		Yellow: 1114 Red: 1103		Green: 1530 "jade green" Blue: 1539 "sapphire" Purple: 52704 "grape pearl"

For Italian colors, you may have to ride your bike to the hobby store to find a match. Here's one a kind customer sent to us:

For Italian Red:

Dupli-Color Auto Spray (Sold in auto parts stores)

Color: Torch Red

Number: EDSGM5100