OK, I'm about to hit a perplexing decision and I'm looking for help in making it.
I have just about finished restoring my Rev 4, Apple II (January 1980 date). When I say restoring, I have rebuilt it pretty much and it has all the original stuff, but I repaired some gouges and resprayed the case with computer matched paint. I have fixed the silver supply and rebuilt the datanetics keyboard. I just have to wait for the paint to harden up so that I can wet-sand the new splatter pattern to make it look perfect.
So this is my decision...
While I have the professional paint sprayer up and going, should I respray my Raised Power Key Rev-0 Apple II case, it has some light scratching and paint missing in the normal spots. I could just touch it up using an artist brush or should I respray the whole thing. I won't have to do any "repairs" on the case this is literally the normal scraped off paint from a monitor.
What do you guys think? Will it kill the value or since I'm not the original owner does it increase the value because now it's restored. My Rev 4, I couldn't live with the case that bad, it was like someone stacked something on top with screws and dragged it across the case, so I had to do something with that one.
Thanks,
Corey
Are you looking at Resale Value, or Aesthetic Value???
ALL ORIGINAL with Documentation would be the best for Resale, just by observing the eBay sales, but I would think that Same Period brought together would be acceptable to some..
Looking like a Period Apple would meet the Aesthetic Value, no mater where the parts came from.
I own a ][, a ][+ and a bunch of //e's. I will Restore the ][ and ][+, but I personally focus on the Functional Value, like for Testing of Programs and then the Aesthetic Value.. Resale is way down the list, because revisiting the Apple ]['s is a return to High School for me...
Well the parts are the correct parts, it's a matter of the case refinish. A real rev-0 with the correct parts isn't a cheap item so that's why I don't want to kill the value. I don't plan on selling it or my Rev-4 in the near term (I may part with a few of my II plus systems I don't use), but I guess I'm just trying to get a warm fuzzy about my decision one way or another.
Cheers,
Corey
Like Automobiles, no Body Damage is preferable, but Very Nicely Repaired Body Damage might not even be noticed..
If the Scratches are Filled an Sanded, and the Paint and Texture matches, most people won't even notice.
Some people might be willing to pay more for a Rev-0, with minor case damage all original, but I would think more people would pay for a Rev-0, with fixed case damage.
The Minor Case damage is "more original", but the Fixed Case is better to "show off" to Friends and Family..
I would always accept a New Apple ][, but I won't turn down the Aesthetic pleasing New looking one either...
Other People will have other levels of what is acceptable..
Hi Corey,
If it's not really necessary, I would not paint it. I think it will decrease his value. But you can always make some small repairs.
This is my opinion.
Also, I painted an Osborne 1 few years ago and it was much more fragile after that.
If you want to use the "Classic Car" analogy, you are going to have to take that "Bondo" statement into account.
A classic car collector would rather have a 1957 Chevy with all original (or almost all original) parts and faded paint (even a couple of minor scratches) and NO BONDO, to having the same car with all replaced parts and bondo everywhere.
Of course, if you are repairing and painting because it pleases you to have a unit that you can be proud of placing on your desk, using, and showing to your friends, that is a totally different story all together.
I take offense at the Bondo comment
I only use new fenders that have frabricated correctly on an english wheel. I also only use lead bar braised and smoothed by flame and a spoon for filler.
I kinda collect cars so in love the car analogy.
But seriously to keep the car analogy going.
Which would be better a Rev 0 apple II that looks like it has been left outside since new (it runs, but the paint is faded and its covered in door dings) or a Rev 0 Apple II which had a frame up restoration including walnut blasting and refinishing in factory colors with Spies Hecker paint.
I guess that is my real question.
Cheers,
Corey
LOL
I guess I'm old school.
I'd rather have the faded paint and dings.
Are we talking Original, 1957 Era Chevy parts, or 3rd Party copies??
I definitely can agree with NO Bondo everywhere.. Maybe a minor fill here, and maybe there, but when you need Major Bondo, it's time to become an Organ Donor..
Agreed!!
Here's some perspective: the first image is of my HP 9100B calculator. It has been restored over a period of months, meticulously disassembled, cleaned, repaired, and repainted. It is a museum-quality piece of work (none of this was done by me, BTW...)
The second image is my HP 9826, given to me for free by the guy who restored my 9800B. He didn't consider it interesting or valuable enough to restore. I unsoldered and repaired about 10 of the keys (same key switches as a //e, BTW, although the posts are longer), cleaned the disk drive and epoxied the broken drive door, and otherwise left it alone. It works perfectly, but as you can see from the image is scratched, dinged, and otherwise heavily used (as a lot of these old HP machines were). Trust me, it looks even grungier in person.
So...which would you rather have on your desk?
The 9826. It's way cooler. There's also a certain satisfaction in using something that you personally fixed (even if the fix is only on the inside...).
Decided to get touchup matched to the rev 0 exactly. Touch up and wet sand to match. The spatter pattern is so big from the factory on these early apples that you won't notice.
Cheers,
Corey
I have to agree with david__schmidt. The 9826, because YOU did the work.
It's the same with my Mountain Expansion Chassis.
It could be more clean and eventually it may be, but I did the repair work myself.
Hopefully, when I power it up, it will hum and do what it is supposed to do.
I'll find out this week.
Well, it would be easy enough to take it apart, take the plastics (I think the "body parts" are plastic of some sort, although they are very heavy and dense, sort of like Bakelite) down to my buddies at Reno Auto Body, and have it repainted. Of course I'd lose the silk-screened legend below the drive slot and the (not visible in the image) labeling of some of the function keys on the keyboard...
But no. I think I shall leave it as is.
I do get the part about "repairing it youself", though. That's why I'm using the junk //e Platinum I bought for parts rather than the perfectly working ][e I was going to use originally.
So the old car analogy hits me right at home too. There is definitely the appeal of having *earned* patina. Dirty, I don't care for. But clean, with obvious usage patterns, is OK in my book. Especially with HPs which better have been well used or somebody wasn't doing their job.
dramsey - you mention Reno Auto Body. Are you in/near Reno? I'm in Incline VIllage.
Dave...
Yep, I live out at the base of Geiger Grade in Reno.