# 5 - January 20, 2011
Most antique and vintage items on E-Bay are in their original condition. The percentage of restored toys on e-Bay is probably less than 1%. However, there are some people who enjoy restored toys just for their vintage looks, rather than for their monetary value. Of course, some restored items will fetch good prices.
For this article, I've posted Hubley vintage tow trucks. Personally, I like then either restored or unrestored. However, as a seller, they're easier to sell unrestored. I have mostly restored these Hubly tow trucks in terms of just sanding and repainting. They've sold to people who liked the "finished new look", and I was proud of my work. I sold 1 re-painted Hubley tractor, and the buyer wrote to say that this restoration was the best one he had from all his toys - I was definitely floored!
As with most new learning, you learn as you go. With the Internet, you always have instant knowledge from an infinite amount of resources.
Safety notes:
1. Wear safety glasses
2. Wear a breathing mask if removing pain in a confined area
3. Wear long-sleeve shirts to avoid getting corrosive materials on your skin (e.g. paint remover or stripper)
4. Wear hearing protectors. Buy a good set of those half-moon types with replaceable inserts. I use these for also mowing the lawn! I've tried ear plugs, but to me, they're useless, and don't block the sound enough!
4. Use disposable plastic or latex gloves when stripping paint from toys.
5. Use old leather gloves when using the Dremmel or when removing rust.
*Do not use latex gloves. You may find they'll catch on the turning spindle of the unit!
The leather gloves will protect you from the fine wire hairs that fall off form the wire brush attachments for the Dremmel. SOme of the wire splinters are so small you won;t see them unless you wear glasses, but they hurt like heck!
6. Work in a well-lit area.
7. Work in a well-ventilated area or even outdoors for paint removal and paint stripping.
8. Most vintage or antique toys will have lead-based paint. This is further reason to wear a breathing
mask.
9. Dispose of all stripped paint, and dust in a proper recyclable centre.
When actually working:
1. Use a Dremmel high-speed tool to remove dirt and rust.
2. You can use a wire brush for starters, and then different grades of sandpaper (by hand).
Eventually, you can use 1000 or even 2000 grade automative sandpaper for that final smooth sanding.
3. If you have access to a sandblaster, that works better than having to use the Dremmel and hand sandpapers.
4. When you are finished with the sanding, carefully wash the toy to remove all hints or traces or oils and
grease.
5. When the toy is completely dry, add an automative primer. I like to use Humbrol hobby paints for re-painting the toys. However, their primer did not seem to have good sticking power, ergo someones's suggestion from e-Bay to use automative primer. Now that sticks! However, to be fair to Humbrol, I did not wash the toys in soapy water!
6. There are other brands out there besides Humbrol, but I like their paints for the variety of colours.
Spend the money on good brushes, and buy different sizes for different area (small or large).
Clean them after each use. Wipe them on a rag, then dip them in paint thinner. Uuse several
small glass or metal cans. The first can is for removal or most of the paint. The second one if for
removing that "tinge" that is still there.
7. Stir the paints for about m minutes, and when finished clean the body of the small can, so that the lid will seat tightly on the can top.
8. Try to work in a place that is clean and free from dust. You can't see dust, but you won't believe how
much there can be when your toy is finished drying.
9. Someone suggested to me to place the toy in a box and cover it, so falling dust would be mimimized.
10. Wait 24-48 hours for the paint to harden.
11. USe a fine sandpaper to give the paint a rough surface to have the second coat (or third coat) stick better.
12. You can buy these paints in gloss or matter, and they even have a clear matt finish.
13. You can use latex-based paints or even spray-can paints if you want.
14. Some automative retailers will even customize a paint colour for you, and put it into an aerosol can.
This of course is relatively expensive.
Enough said, so here are the unpainted and re-painted items that I have sold on E-Bay.
Don't forget that you can double click on a photo to enlarge it.
You can use spray paints form your local hoppy shop, and 1 of the large automotive parts companies can custom blend a paint colour and fill up an aerosol can with the fresh paint. However, this will cost you about $ 25.00 - $ 30.00, compared with a small can (40cc or 2 oz) of toy model paint for about $ 2.00.
