What do you think I should do, restore or keep as is?

[markurxn]

I thought I would try my hand at restoring an old tool chest, but as it turned out, I found this vintage Sun Service Equipment cabinet on Craigslist for $80 and had to grab it.

Not sure if it was a sweet deal or not, but it functions beautifully and has a great looking patina. So now I'm deliberating if I should restore it to its full glory or keep it as is.

What do you all think?

 

[devoncoolman]

I would clean it up. Maybe brush the handles with scotch brite. Use it as it. Adds character to any garage.

 

[zkling]

Keep as is. Not nearly enough rust to warrant a repaint.
Sweet cart BTW, welcome to GJ

 

[I van putski]

It's only original once.

 

[Perrorojo]

Wash it off and use it.

 

[CAOS]

Wipe it down with some WD-40 and enjoy! I would have easily paid $80.00!

 

[930dreamer]

Nice Sun cart, maybe clay bar it and enjoy.

 

[scaron]

looks nice. a little patina but not too tore up. i'd say $80 is a fair price. if i were you i'd probably leave it as-is but i like that kind of look...

 

[jmscollinsiii]

Clean it up and put a coat of satin clear on it. I think the patina looks amazing. Nice score especially at that price.

 

[Hawk]

Clean it and Use it.

 

[jakemac]

I'm with the others. Clean it up, polish the hardware, and slap a coat of paste wax on it. It can only be original once. Enjoy it's history now, let someone else restore it later when it really needs it.

 

[Farmall450]

Keep it.

 

[markurxn]

I guess thats an overwhelming 'leave it alone'. Interesting ideas for sure. I especially like clear coating to protect the patina. I would have never thought of that.

I've got a tiny old tacklebox I sanded down a while ago and never finished.

I just ordered a couple cans of Rustoleum to see which matches up best.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0019K909W/?tag=atomicindus08-20
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001UE7MTW/?tag=atomicindus08-20

I think I might bondo up a few divits on the tacklebox and finish it with a can of the above just to see how it goes. Then maybe I'll look for another project piece.

I'll keep you all posted.

 

[Fedwrench]

Wipe it down with a sponge and a bucket of dilluted simple green and use the hell out of it. Polish-smolish, skip the wax, chicks dig scars, and old cabinets should be left that way, seasoned.

 

[shoggoth80]

I think it looks rad as it is. Like the others, I say clean it well, and maybe wax it or something. Maybe use Renwax or something like it to preserve? Looks like a nice addition.

 

[taumac]

Cool find. Clean it maybe clear coat it and enjoy using it.

 

[Old Steamer]

Nice find! Clean it, use it, love it.

 

[1/2 Cup]

I have got to go with the majority, clean up and leave it as it is. It oozes character.
Great score.

 

[Hako86]

Keep it as it is man! I like the real vintage looks of it

 

[NHBandit]

Restoring it would ruin it. You could never save the decals and I doubt the Sun decal is being reproduced. It has stories to tell. A fresh coat of paint makes it just another run of the mill metal cabinet. If you're one of those guys who must have "pretty" **** in his garage ship it to me and I'll buy you a nice brand new cabinet from Harbor Freight...

 

[Kevin54]

I'm on the other side of the fence. Restore it. It's an original cabinet, you know it's original, get a decal made up, or someone to paint the decals, and put some new fresh paint on it. Treat it like it should be treated and bring it back to new standards.

And no.....I'm not a fan of "patina". If the original owner would have taken better care of it, it would look like new anyways.

 

[G_P]

I agree with the clean it and use it crowd. It wont be half as cool if its got a fresh shiny coat of paint on it.

 

[Lookin4'67Galaxieconv]

I'm on the other side of the fence. Restore it. It's an original cabinet, you know it's original, get a decal made up, or someone to paint the decals, and put some new fresh paint on it. Treat it like it should be treated and bring it back to new standards.

Good to see someone went against the trend as everyone else was saying keep it as is. That said, when I have that decision to make as to whether to keep as is or redo, I make a judgement call on the patina. If it still looks decent, I will clean up, but if it's too far gone I have no problem repainting it. From the pictures, it looks like it's worth keeping as is and cleaning up.

btw, you can get any logo reproduced these days.

 

[upndown]

Clean it as best you can, and use it! if down the road it's not to your liking you can always strip and paint it. Cool looking cabinet!

 

[Outlawmws]

The only Retoration it needs is cleanup as most have said. Clay bar is a good idea, then if you want to preserve the look, use paste wax; I don't like the clear paints as they yellow. Wax generally won't, and it is a lot easier to remove if you want to without getting into the original paint and decals.

for the chrome, get some Nevr-Dul and clean with that it's great for light rust on chrome like that. DON"T use scotch brite, it's abrasive and will dull/scratch the surface. if you have a spot the Nevr-dull won't take care of, use oil and fine steel wool or wet SOS (Not Brillo) pad.

 

[ZRX61]

Do NOT use Simple Green that **** is highly corrosive, use this stuff instead:

http://www.brulin.com/productdetails.aspx?pid=17&cid=1

 

[Jarhead0408]

Clean it and leave it original.

 

[rickhigginshtbr]

im with the clean it crowd... scrub it, wet sand it, buff it, then I like to use a satin poly to protect it.