My Kona Hot TET before and after.

[Olb]

Thanks. It's all XT and I'm switching it to XTR with a King headset when I get motivated.

 

[Oldtat]

I like it. But I'm not hung up on authenticity.

 

[raidan73]

I do have a question for more experienced Kona guys. When I sent this out to get powder coated..they blasted nearly all of the TET 1650 off. I had it restamped but they didn't do a very good job. My savings grace I believe is that i have original photos. Is that a problem for the more purist individuals?

Dd they blast it with granite chippings? The TET stamping is normally fairly deep, in my experience.

Looks like they did a good job with the paint though.

 

[Olb]

This was a few years ago and u never bothered to ask what they used. The finish is powder coating.

 

[al-onestare]

I do have a question for more experienced Kona guys. When I sent this out to get powder coated..they blasted nearly all of the TET 1650 off. I had it restamped but they didn't do a very good job. My savings grace I believe is that i have original photos. Is that a problem for the more purist individuals?

Yikes and 1650 is a new one for the inventory. Do you have a picture of the SN before?

 

[NigelFinnighan]

I do have a question for more experienced Kona guys. When I sent this out to get powder coated..they blasted nearly all of the TET 1650 off. I had it restamped but they didn't do a very good job. My savings grace I believe is that i have original photos. Is that a problem for the more purist individuals?

First off, I really like your build- I was absolutely in love with it before you mentioned it's a re-paint. Which brings me to your question- Hot's are desirable for many, many reasons. One of reasons being the colour ordered, some colours, whether it be a stock colour (like mine painted the same as the Hahanna FML), to a cool custom colour, all the way to a super funky flame or fade. Some frames are just worth more. Once we start getting into repaints, I personally believe it devalues the frame. There are exceptions but it's so nuanced and personal it's too hard to explain. Man I'm a geek.

I once considered repainting my Hot a colour I would have ordered, because between you, me and the other 15 people who read this... I hate the colour of my Hot. BUT! I also kinda like the fact that someone decided to buy the Top of the line frame, had the choice of any colour, and settled on the same colour as the cheapest model on the floor. This also means that I get to keep looking for the colour I want.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that for me anyway, the original colour choice tells the story of the Hot, it's what gives it it's personality and dictates the build. So should be left alone and just cleaned up/ touched up.

regarding the S/N - if you have pictures of the S/N prior to it be blasted off, that helps for sure. For me, the real crime is the restamping, in a sale this would bring more questions than answers.

 

[Olb]

I do have before and after serial number pics . I neglected to take a pic of the blasted off pic for whatever reason but they did put the new stamp over the original stamp as best they could.

 

[Olb]

Yikes and 1650 is a new one for the inventory. Do you have a picture of the SN before?

Posted

 

[Olb]

Yikes and 1650 is a new one for the inventory. Do you have a picture of the SN before?

Pics posted

 

[Ackers]

I'm in the camp of keeping frames original, love a bit of patina
Are you sure they blasted the stamp off and not just filled it with the powder coat?