should wood coasters be painted?

no! just bare wood makes it more impressive looking.

I believe that some deserve to be painted. American Eagle comes to mind, it is so beautiful painted. If it was plain wood, it would seem like a very different ride.

However, a ride like SoB, should not be painted cause it blends in with the woods.

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Tidal Wave- R.I.P End of 1991.
Why did SFoG have to steal our treasure... :(

And a woodie should only be painted if the park expects to keep it painted and looking beautiful. I like Racers painted and normal woodies plain or stained would be fine.
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Danny

Stained yeah! The BEAST was sooo beautiful for years... Until like 1992 or something when they painted it BROWN. Uck! That came along with the new lapbars, lights, etc.

No way should they paint them. I love the natural brownish color. The colors Paramount are painting some of those old woodies just make me sick.

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"This time I think ... I think it's ... it's going to work!" - Dr.Bruce Banner

It depends if the themeing calls for it. I'll use the example of the 2 @ SFGAm.
American Eagle, in County Fair. County Fair is like an old time county fair. In the old days, coasters were always painted! So yes, that one should be painted.
Viper, it's in the Southwest Territory. There isn't much color in the desert, so why should it be painted?

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Everybodys got something to hide except for me and my monkey!

It would depend upon whether or not it was built with pressure treated lumber or not. If it was, then it definitely shouldn't be painted. The wood needs to breath,and painting it would trap moisture inside it. If you have a chance to look at some of the color photos of the coasters at Euclid Beach Park, you'll notice they are all kind of a silver-gray. That's because they didn't paint them. They said that by not painting them they extended the useful life of the wood. It may not look real pretty,but apparently it worked.

Most of the time no. Blue Streak looks good with paint, but Mean Streak wouldn't.

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MF Drops-22
SOB Rides-2

Depends on the ride. I know that if I ever ran a park, I would love to have a red white and blue CCI racer.

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WARNING: THIS POST MAY ACTUALLY INCLUDE SARCASM AND OR HUMOR. PLEASE CONSIDER BEFORE RESPONDING.

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Koaster King said:
"And a woodie should only be painted if the park expects to keep it painted and looking beautiful. "

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I agree look at the racer qat PKI. It needs a paint job Badly!

YES. Some of the older coasters need repainting.

Every classic coaster should be painted. It just adds to the "classic" coaster feel.

What color was the beast before.

I believe that a coaster should be painted if the park can afford to repaint the coaster every one to two years. There is nothing more depressing than a great woodie in desparate need of a paint job. I like the look of unpainted coasters, but agree that the classic ones should painted as long as the park can keep them looking good.

I'm really glad Indiana Beach's Hoosier Hurricane was painted white. It makes it seem more unique and looks really nice on the lake side. I couldn't imagine it just using it's grey steel (on the other hand, Cornball Express is just fine as it wouldn't seem right if it had white supports too).

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This is the true story, of 7 strangers, who were picked to live in a THEME PARK...to show you what happens when people stop being polite, and start getting THRILLED!

the beast was never painted until 1992.

I like when woodies are not painted at all, but woodies that are paint white (Twister II) are very neat looking. Also, I like painting my RCT woodies white.
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Colorado Avalanche: Stanley Cup Champions!

Some only look natural in it. Like GA Cyclone, it is white with teal handrails. It looks really good.

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Mindbender...Can you hear the Riddler chuckling?

the american eagle at SFGAm looks beautiful with its twin white racing tracks and the red and blue trim. What makes it more amazing is at nite, the lights illuminate the whole ride making it glow. it looks so cool and anyone that goes to sfgam would agree.