Cosmoline/patina question?

[6mmintl]

How many of you C & R collectors leave the cosmoline on your cherished collectable to enhance its sale at a later date?

I understand cleaning the Cosmo off is required if you want to shoot your rifle but most all collectable rifles for sale are loaded with cosmoline like the way they come in from the distributors.

I also see lots of patina (I call it surface rust) mostly on local for sale guns and understand people want to clean them up a bit for private sales.



Is it sacrilege to clean off the cosmoline before trying to sell?

Does it devalue the sale price?

Is it sacrilege to clean off the patina before trying to sell?

Does it devalue the sale price?

Your opinions are valuable so let me know.

[highpower790]

Im a shooter,not a collector.If it were me...I would leave a firearm with the cosmo on had I not already removed it,and any patina should be left as is.
High end collectors know the value will be destryoed if the attempt to remove patina is made.
HI F.A.

[kendog4570]

You lost the cork tonight, didn't you??

Just went on ahead and finished the jug.

[Father Ted]

I think the Cosmoline removal-cleanup would only devalue certain items like an unnissued mummy wrapped LE no 4 mk2. Yes if you want to shoot it you have to clean it up, but if you clean off all that disgusting Cosmoline you will turn away certain buyers. The same definitely goes for patina cleanup. I pass on most cleanups and definitely consider the value much lowered if not utterly ruined. 100 years of patina obtained from conditions you can only guess at cannot be replaced once removed. If you call it rust then you just don't understand or appreciate it and that's fine because there are plenty of like minded folk who will buy what you "clean up".
This is my 36 chevy pick up that I will probably never fully restore because I love patina. Cheers

[Gavelek]

I like the smell of cosmo

[knucklehead0202]

I personally don't go to great lengths to get every last bit of cosmo off of/out of a rifle. The working parts and exposed parts absolutely, but I don't strip the whole thing down and soak it in gasoline or any nonsense like that. Couple of rifles still sweat a little out when I get 'em warm enough, but I think it just makes them smell better. As for collector value, I'd agree with the fella who said that it makes sense in certain instances to leave them untouched. If you're not going to shoot it, I wouldn't go out of my way to clean everything off as long as it's not growing rust. I, too, appreciate patina and have never been tempted to re-blue anything, although I have refinished a couple stocks, only with oil, no varnish or crap like that. A shooter is a shooter so as long as that's understood I wouldn't think anything would be an issue, with full disclosure of course.

[Rozzi]

This is my 36 chevy pick up that I will probably never fully restore because I love patina. Cheers

I love your truck. I'd walk by 100 restored cars to check out yours at a show!

[highpower]

Father Ted, your truck is badass. I love patina, it lends a certain amount of honesty to an old gun/vehicle/whatever else.

The Pontiac in my avatar still carries the original paint. Right now it is a good 40 ft car, when I bought it 18 years ago it was a 20 ft car. As the years go by and it ages more I am sure it will look better the farther away you get.


You just can't replace the look of natural aging on things. Look at how we cry when some idiot "improves' a gun by polishing it and refinishing the wood.

To the OP; If you want to get the best price out of your C&R guns clean them only enough to shoot them without cosmoline dripping out. That way you will attract the serious buyers down the road.

[SanPedroShooter]

Cosmo goes, patina stays.

If something is growing nasty rust, that goes too. I haven't really had that problem.

I did get an M44 that had some black magic marker crap over some rubbed off bluing on the magazine. The importer tried to 'fix' it up I guess. Id rather see the in the white spots.

Looks like that old truck now. Well maybe not that much patina... Its nice.

[highpower790]

Father Ted, your truck is badass. I love patina, it lends a certain amount of honesty to an old gun/vehicle/whatever else.

The Pontiac in my avatar still carries the original paint. Right now it is a good 40 ft car, when I bought it 18 years ago it was a 20 ft car. As the years go by and it ages more I am sure it will look better the farther away you get.


You just can't replace the look of natural aging on things. Look at how we cry when some idiot "improves' a gun by polishing it and refinishing the wood.

To the OP; If you want to get the best price out of your C&R guns clean them only enough to shoot them without cosmoline dripping out. That way you will attract the serious buyers down the road.

The color of your car is close to a 63 Falcon that I have been watching on ebay...I want an old car!

[6mmintl]

You guys and your running cars are killing me, I bought this awhile ago and now have to let it go because I just don't have the funds to fix it up.

Special order Fremont 66 396 325HP El Camino.

If anyone is interested let me know.

[TURNKEY13]

I like the smell of cosmo

Tastes good on Ritz too

[Father Ted]

You guys and your running cars are killing me, I bought this awhile ago and now have to let it go because I just don't have the funds to fix it up.

]

Do you have the means to hang onto it and fix later? I've let go four 66 novas and now I couldn't afford one if I wanted to. My friends mom still has her 66 malibu same marina blue as your elcamino that she bought brand new in high school. Smart woman. My truck is the last year that the cab is a bunch of pieces of sheet metal attached to an oak frame that has seen better days. The main structural support on the back window panel is a gun rack.
Cheers

[NoNOS67]

Special order Fremont 66 396 325HP El Camino.

Nice lookin' El Camino!

[6mmintl]

No, got to let her go, I came to the realization im physically not 18 anymore.

Back in the 60's when I was 14 I was wrenching and porting/polishing heads for the local racers for street and strip, I never actually had a race car except for a 1963 two door nova and a used Covette 283 with two wfb carbs for a planned build when uncle Sam called and I joined the USMC to avoid the draft (that did not work out very well but that is another long story), anyway, while fighting Communist aggression in south east Asia, my dad did not like the car sitting on the side of the house so he just junked it ( a pristine 5 year old car Chevy Nova with no rust).

So here I am with a dream I still cannot fulfill (money/effort) but it will have to do and breaks my heart to let it go, I cannot afford a running restored classic muscle car!

Believe me, restoring /shooting classic guns is a lot cheaper,.