Primarily Petroliana Shop Talk Forums Shop Talk Petroliana Forums Petroliana Value Questions 72" Double Sided Porcelain Idaho Chief Sign

Hello!

Thank you for having me as a new member to this forum! I am a complete novice to Petroliana and signs.

This sign was acquired from a old cabin in the Mud Gulch area on the Priest River in North Idaho. I have had it for many years and stored in a shipping container. It was being used as a "cover" for firewood. I am pretty amazed it is in the actual condition it is in...withstanding years of North Idaho weather abuse. I realize it is in rough shape and condition is everything. I do have a few questions that I hope member here can advise. Thanks in advance for any help!

1. Current condition value? Please see pictures of both sides.
2. Value if properly restored? Estimated cost of Restoration?
3. How to properly clean and what type of cleaner to use?

Cheers-

Mac

welcome aboard .. ...

Welcome

Rare sign , Scrub it off with barkeepers friend you won't hurt it and will be surprised how much better it will look . I would guess $4,000 to $6,000 as value . As far as restoring it maybe one side but most people would say no . Clean it good then post the after pictures I would love to see it . Good luck

Mac, I agree with the cleaning. After it dries, give it a good coating of Howards Feed and Wax. It can be purchased at Lowes or Home Depot in the paint/stain section. Sometimes antique stores have some on hand as well? It will bring out the colors and make it shine. Personally, I would not have it restored. I am of the belief that with signs, value is diminished, once it has been worked on. Paul www.severngaspumps.com

100% agree with Paul about not restoring the sign. Granted, this is a personal opinion of mine, but the "market" seems to have turned in favor of originality a few years back. John

Don't restore it...give it a good cleaning and enjoy it...if you decide to sell it you will be very pleasantly surprised at what you can get for it

It's nice to see one in this condition was beginning to think they were all fake only seeing mint ones. Great sign Now if I can only find a washington chief in this condition

Hello- Thanks for all the information and welcomes! My wife and I are going to start cleaning it with barkeepers best friend and water. We are not going the restoration route- we like the patina and wear look too!
Anyone use 3M rubbing compound? I will post some photos soon.

Years ago I tried a little rubbing compound, applying it by hand. All it did was to leave white compound in the rusted chipped areas. Very hard to remove. I never did it again. Paul www.severngaspumps.com

I also use Wesley’s bleachehite tire cleaner along with the barkeepers friend. I spray the bleachwite on & then sprinkle the barkeepers on it making a paste like concoction.

Thanks for the heads up on the rubbing compound. We will try it by hand on a small spot and stay away from the rusted chipped area. I will look into the Howard's wax too.

There are some old rusted nuts and bolts in some of the hanging holes. They appear to be original. Will it affect the value or "originality" if I decided to remove them?

Thanks!

I think your sign will display better, if you remove the rusty old hanging bolts. You certainly won't be losing any value by doing that. If you can't wrench them off, just carefully cut them off with a Dremel tool or a small cut-off wheel on a die grinder. John

on the market .. ...

https://www.ebay.com/itm/256077824358

Yes, any of us can "Buy It Now" for $32,000. Apparently this new Old Gas member, antique dealer (look at his other eBay items for sale) simply forgot to update us all about his eBay listing. Aren't we all glad though, that we gave him such heartfelt recommendations about the best way to clean the sign? However, I'm not really sure he actually did clean it before listing it. John