Clean the rust, or leave the rust?

[revolver74]

Hey all,

I am preparing to sell my old 1970's/80's Tonka toys on Ebay, and I have a question.

Should I try to remove surface rust as part of the cleaning process (i.e. Metal Rescue, etc.), or just clean dust and dirt, then sell "as is"? 

Your opinions would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks!

[biggymoe]

Personally, I would leave the rust and sell "As Is".  Let the buyer make their own restoration decisions.

Include good description, and photos, showing and describing the flaws.

[silver_revival]

Personally I would clean the rust. I would never buy anything with rust or mould on.

[defendress]

I agree with biggymoe completely. Never ever clean anything, sell "as is" 100%...

[revolver74]

So, just clean off the dirt and dust?

[varebelrose]

"So, just clean off the dirt and dust?"

Yep, a lot of buyers want the "patina" of age and use on things like this. It can always be cleaned MORE but can never be cleaned LESS.

Also you may want to check sold records of the Tonkas; I had quite a few of the old metal ones I was going to list at one time, and the sold values compared to the shipping costs made it not worth the time. Maybe prices have gone up.

YMMV.

[defendress]

Yes, only that, make sure you do not use any cleaning products, just a simple brush off/wipe with a clean rag or soft shirt. I metal detected for a very long time, still do but not as much as I once did...and have found many objects from the 1800's and early 1900's...even a revolutionary war era flat (button), and I did nothing but wipe them down gently with a cotton cloth, and left them completely alone. My 3 1812 era bayonets I found are completely rusted. But I did nothing with them, put them in a long container with some tissue paper (shiny side away) lightly placed over them, sealed the container, and there they still lay, un opened for 4 years now.

[greenberet6841]

yeah just clean the dirt and dust.

[redmodelt]

As long as I can see the rust etc, I would want to buy it that way and clean as I see fit.

As an example: Years ago I once bought a Model T aftermarket carburetor that was made of brass. The person selling it had sand blasted it with too much pressure, surface was not nice that could not be seen in the photos. I would have preferred the seller had left the dirt and grime for me to clean in a way that would not have been so harsh.

Your best bet is to use the Advance search and see if it is worth the time to list.

[kensgiftshop]

I clean everything as good as I can with soap and water and that's it.

Take good photos and give a good description so the buyer knows what they are getting.

[toysaver]

I recommend getting the dirt and dust off with simple soap, water, and elbow grease and drying well with paper towels, then give it wipe down with an oiled cloth and dry again.  They will photograph better.

[redmodelt]

Oil could leave a shine or wet look on what might be dull flat paint that should be shiny, hiding that from the buyer.