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Location: Orlando, Florida
I don't think you'll get much more for them in S&S by cleaning them. If they are really rusty, you may want to just get rid of the surface rust so the purchaser knows there's not much pitting. Otherwise, most buyers won't mind cleaning them up on their own.
Still Learning,
Allan Hill
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Location: In da U.P. of Michigan
Applying a non-silicone paste wax to the metal works well too.
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Location: Merryland
Arlin,
I like to buy planes that haven't been cleaned. They aren't hard to clean and I like it done my way. I would think others fell the same way.
There's a guy locally who has a booth in an antique mall. Always has nice tools but he feels that he need to use a wire wheel to knock the crud off. It just destroys the value imho. I'd rather it have that "barn find" look about it and buy it in it's natural state.
But that's just me.
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Location: Butler, PA
Arlin,
Let me come at this from the perspective of a complete newbie (which I am). First I would think that the relative value and collectibility of the planes should dictate the level of cleaning that is appropriate. If they are general, common user planes, you might gain some advantage in carefully cleaning them up a bit, in that someone looking for a user would be more likely to pay up a little for it, rather than want to spend the the time and effort needed to do it himself. Of course, this means an investment in your time & effort, so that factors in as well.
OTOH, if it's something more valuable, I would think one would want to leave it alone, so that the buyer can choose to clean/restore it according to his preferences.
Again, I'm a total rookie at this, so please take my advice with a healthy grain of salt, especially in light of the better advice from the more experienced members of the forum.
Good luck!
If you are going down a river at 2 mph and your canoe loses a wheel, how much pancake mix would you need to shingle your roof?
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I sell quite a bit on ebay and I've found the following:
1) If it's collectible, the most you'll want to do is wipe/brush/blow the dust and dirt off.
2) If it is not collectible but just a good solid plane, people like me and others that have posted in thread prefer them as found. We prefer them as found because we want to restore them to useability and don't want to pay for someone else to do so.
3) If you are capable of restoring and properly fettling the plane then do it if it is just user plane. You will get more for the plane. Just don't confuse cleaning with making the plane function. There are fewer buyers for a restored plane but they will pay more.
just my .02$
Pat
