Duro-Chrome Socket Box

[SKI1019]

Picked up this 1/2" drive socket box this weekend to bring home a bunch of sockets I was buying. To my surprise, when I got home I noticed a faint decal inside the top hiding under years of dirt and grime. I tried to wash it with dish soap but it's still pretty hard to read. I believe the box was originally dark grey but has since been repainted red. Any ides on how to clean the decal without doing damage to it or should I just leave it alone?
https://www.garagejournal.com/forum...nt.php?attachmentid=735301&stc=1&d=1518225324

 

[four.cycle]

don't.
just don't

I might wipe it with a damp paper towel to remove the top layer of grunge, but anything more aggressive than that is going to damage that decal, which is a big part of the intrinsic value of the box as a collector piece.
Without the decal, it's just another box.

The box was most likely originally a dark OD green color, actually, and probably looked like something along this line:



(* note that neither of the catalog illustrations portray the decal inside the lid as it actually was. I suppose that falls into the "artistic license" category. )

 

[d42jeep]

don't.
just don't

I might wipe it with a damp paper towel to remove the top layer of grunge, but anything more aggressive than that is going to damage that decal, which is a big part of the intrinsic value of the box as a collector piece.
Without the decal, it's just another box.

The box was most likely originally a dark OD green color, actually, and probably looked like something along this line:



(* note that neither of the catalog illustrations portray the decal inside the lid as it actually was. I suppose that falls into the "artistic license" category. )

I agree. The decals are very fragile. I think that may be a Duro box that the wartime D-I sockets came in.
-Don

 

[Cf mtn]

hi ski, as 4 cycle said "don't". i found a pic of the original set.

www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/1930s-duro-chrome-tools-of-progress-21pc-1-2dr

42 beat me to it

 

[d42jeep]

The sets are actually WW2 vintage often with dark parkerized tools but some with plain finish.
-Don

 

[SKI1019]

I agree. The decals are very fragile. I think that may be a Duro box that the wartime D-I sockets came in.
-Don

Thanks guys for the quick response. Don, my box and decal looks exactly like the one you have. I actually found the speeder handle in the shop two days later. The person who had the sale invited me back to see if there was anything left that I wanted and I bought every "old tool" in the shop. It included a Parker 434 1/2 vise with the screw missing and a mystery box that I'll post some pics of later. Steve

 

[four.cycle]

SKI1019, note that d42jeep's box above is still the original color inside. The outside of the box will either be faded from exposure to UV light, or all scratched up, or splattered with paint droplets and/or overspray, or might have been re-painted with a rattle can (in far too many cases.)

Those sets are listed on Ebay regularly. I believe there are at least four or five of them listed right now (either under "Duro" or "Indestro".) You may want to take a look at them - it will give you a better idea of what you've got there and its condition relative to what "market average" is.

Finding a cherry box (like d42jeep's above) is a fairly rare occurrence, from my experience. I have a fairly nice Indestro-made (private label) box that's still got the bright green paint on the inside, but the outside is in fairly poor condition.

Note also those all didn't come with the heavy pressed-flange ratchet - some of the lower-end sets came with the open-gear "flip flop" ratchet. (compare the ratchets in the two catalog snips I posted above.)

If you're trying to complete that set, I have no doubt there is more than one member on this site who's probably got loose oddballs to fill in onesie-twosies.

 

[d42jeep]

The sets that I have run across have been very consistent, with all matching contents. There is an almost exact listing in the WW2 Navy NAF Class 41 catalog (my Bible) for the set with a Federal Stock number of 41-W-2997. The only non original tools that I have added to my sets are the crossbars. Most of the sets available are bought by WW2 collectors as an excellent source of D-I sockets.
-Don