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Joined: Feb 2014
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Tod Offline OP
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I want to thank everyone for so graciously taking time out of your day to respond to a new guy looking for opinions.

I appreciate everyone's input here and understand the collector mindset many of you have. Older, rarer, original finishes are more desirable and have much better investment potential....I get that and embrace it in most of my collecting activities which include a 50 gun firearm collection and a collection of a dozen or so antique electric fans. However, my collecting activities in regard to petroliana have another focus. I am collecting memories. I'm only interested in specific items that were a part of my everyday work life when I was a kid pumping gas in a Shell station.

I've already attempted to clean the cabinet, tried polishing compound...the paint is just not there. The cabinet looks much better in the picture than it does in reality. A lot of surface rust bleeding through. I've already made the decision to restore the cabinet, the condition just does not fit the memory I have of the cabinet back in the early 1970's when the cabinet I remember was relatively new. I figure the restoration will cost me maybe $500 to $1000.....much more than the cabinet is worth. It's like this....I'm 61, retired and have reached a point in my life where I can afford to indulge myself.

Really the only issue is the graphics. The Autolite/GT 40 graphic appears to me to be screen printed & not a decal or sticker. If I can't preserve the graphics, my next choice would be to recreate the them with screen printing. Decals or stickers would be a last resort. I have not checked with local screen printers yet but I will. I just thought maybe some of you here might have had some experience here with the process.

Here's a few more pics that maybe better show how bad the surface rust is and a couple extra just because everybody likes to look at pics. LOL










Please use For Sale forums to sell

Please - NO offers to Buy or Sell in this forum category

Statements such as, "I'm thinking about selling this." are considered an offer to sell.
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Tod, let us know how it goes. I've never used the silk screening process on a restoration but it's crossed my mind before as a possible approach!

I too don't really care for the look of decals, and I used to do elaborate stencils so I could paint on logos. I still do that but pretty rarely now. I realized that if I get a high quality decal and bury it in clear, it's really hard to tell its even a decal at all. You might be surprised! The trick to it is to put the decal on with no bubbles at all because the clear will magnify it. Also put on generous amount of clear after a first light coat (to avoid edge interactions between clear and decal). If your silk screening falls through its a viable backup.

Here's a recent pump with a mix of buried decals and painted pinstriping/graphics, it's hard to tell which is which. http://www.oldgas.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Main=93203&Number=565934#Post565934

Last edited by Paul Bell; Tue Jan 05 2016 11:37 AM.

See our restorations & products! >>>>> https://www.facebook.com/roadrash/
Joined: Feb 2014
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Tod Offline OP
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Thanks Paul for passing on your experience with decals, I will definitely keep that in mind.

Also thanks to Robert77 who graciously sold me a set of stickers he had. I feel confident now moving forward on this project at least having the stickers to use as a last resort if the silk screening doesn't pan out.

Joined: Jul 2014
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Any idea what a cabinet like yours is worth? I have a buddy that has one in a little better condition that he wants to sell, but doesn't know what to ask. Thanks in advance. J R Patton Tribune, Ks.

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