Ever bought a box that's been in a fire?

[senor fozz]

Found a tool box that appears that to have been in a fire, from the picture it appears to be blackened on some of the drawers. It is a KR7100 a box that I have only seen in red and there is no red paint left on the box. It kinda looks like some one sand blasted(light flat grey finish) on the rest of the box.

If it was in a fire but the slides all work, is there anything I need to be careful of like the metal changing properties weakening it, plastic in the locking mech(this box does not use a key), when i paint it will the damage will be visible though paint and primer?

 

[Mohawk Dave]

All valid points. And it really depends how much heat it saw. But if all the slides work, and it functions as a place to put tools, then it is still a tool box. It would pique my interest because I'd rather have a non-perfect box and money in my pocket, than the other way around.

Take it for a test drive, and get it super cheap if it functions. Can you look at it everytime you walk in the garage and be happy with the purchase, or will it eat at you?

 

[senor fozz]

It is over 100 miles from me so if I go down to look at it I need to know some info before I take a look. The price he posted for it is way to high for a box that was fire damaged IMO. I was looking at the pictures of it agian this morning and realized it likely didn't see fire because the casters aren't melted. But it may have been blackened by flames, still doesn't explain the condition of the box overall though. Just wish the guy would call me back or at least shoot off a email.

 

[rsanter]

Something dosent make sense. If the fire got to the box and baked off the paint I'm not sure how the slides would still work good.
If it is smoke damage then that's not too bad but can be a ***** to clean up and may have that smoke smell for a very very long time

To me I'm thinking the box is worth 10-20% of what the box would be worth not damaged.

I suspect that he was either paid off on the insurance claim or didn't have insurance and is now just looking for an idiot to pay top much. What he should have done is clean up the box himself if it is so 'good' still but I suspect he knows how much work cleaning it will be

Bob

 

[R.Anderson]

Pictures?

 

[senor fozz]

don't want to post pics because I don't want to be sniped out of it by someone in the city where it is. Don't get me wrong I like you guys, but this box is my Excalibur and has been for the last 6 months, and if i can pick one up for cheap and paint it how i want is very tempting.

 

[senor fozz]

Something dosent make sense. If the fire got to the box and baked off the paint I'm not sure how the slides would still work good.
If it is smoke damage then that's not too bad but can be a ***** to clean up and may have that smoke smell for a very very long time

To me I'm thinking the box is worth 10-20% of what the box would be worth not damaged.

I suspect that he was either paid off on the insurance claim or didn't have insurance and is now just looking for an idiot to pay top much. What he should have done is clean up the box himself if it is so 'good' still but I suspect he knows how much work cleaning it will be

Bob

forgot about just smoke damage, that is a much better description of what likely happened. If it was just smoke damage then i have less to worry about when it comes to the locking mechanism. I'm a chimney so don't mind the smell of smoke. So how does painting smoke damaged boxes turn out is my final question.

 

[NUTTSGT]

Generally fire will remove the paint if it's involved in a structure fire and leave bare metal. The bare metal with absolutely no protection will rust in a heart beat.

The casters are at floor level, the coolest place in a fire. many times things down low are virtually untouched and stuff up high can be melted and distorted.

 

[NUTTSGT]

I've seen many things that have been involved in fires and I don't want your box. If you PM me the link I will give you my opinion if it looks like it's been through a fire.

 

[R.Anderson]

Good luck then.

 

[4x4gearhead]

It sounds like its up to your own judgement, if you dont want to post pics, we are all just shooting from the hip. Buy it if you think its worth a damn, I personally would stay away from it.

 

[NUTTSGT]

PM replied to.

 

[Skyline]

If it's smoke damage, that's OK; it will clean up. If it got hot enough to burn off the paint; walk away. Keep in mind that it is almost impossible to get new paint on some of the interior areas of the box. A box that has been paint stripped in fire will rust out very quickly. Keep in mind that the process of extinguishing the fire involved water, which produces steam, which essentially gets everywhere. So if there's bare metal, it's already started on the rust process.

 

[rsanter]

For smoke damage I would start with something like simple green and then go to a polishing compound like you might use on your car.
That smoke residue is some tough stuff, lots of elbow grease in your future

Bob