Anyone Else Like Beer Memorabilia?
Here's my latest score. I bought a complete Schlitz beer collection from a gal for $200. It had over a hundred different pieces including a bunch of cans, bottles, ash trays etc but the lights didn't work so she priced it cheap. I got them home and found that most of bulbs were either burned out or missing, and the others just needed to be coaxed back into life by holding down the on/off button a few times. I sold all of the small stuff to a Schlitz collector for $200 to break even and then last week sold him four more signs/lights for $300. I kept the two biggest, nicest ones for myself. The large globe is from 1977 and the inside rotates to make it look like the ocean is moving. The hanging light is from 1962 (same as me) and the larger part is supposed to rotate. That one is my next project. It lights up but the motor that rotates it is burned out and isn't common anymore so I'll have to adapt another motor to it. I really enjoy working on these old signs and getting them back to their former glory!
Nice score! I've been doing this for a little while now and can help a little. Be very careful. 50 year old plastic that has been exposed to light and heat can be very fragile and brittle. I cracked a sign just turning it over while cleaning it. I use Dawn dish soap and hot water to disolve the dust, dirt and nicotine. Be careful, anything stronger can stain the plastic or even destroy it. A magic erasure works good too. My wife says that I wash my signs more carefully than I used to wash our babies! As far as websites, I don't know of any but I'm on several Facebook pages where people buy, sell and share old beer stuff. I get lots of good tips and pointers there.
Here's my latest score. I bought a complete Schlitz beer collection from a gal for $200. It had over a hundred different pieces including a bunch of cans, bottles, ash trays etc but the lights didn't work so she priced it cheap. I got them home and found that most of bulbs were either burned out or missing, and the others just needed to be coaxed back into life by holding down the on/off button a few times. I sold all of the small stuff to a Schlitz collector for $200 to break even and then last week sold him four more signs/lights for $300. I kept the two biggest, nicest ones for myself. The large globe is from 1977 and the inside rotates to make it look like the ocean is moving. The hanging light is from 1962 (same as me) and the larger part is supposed to rotate. That one is my next project. It lights up but the motor that rotates it is burned out and isn't common anymore so I'll have to adapt another motor to it. I really enjoy working on these old signs and getting them back to their former glory!