What would you do with this old trunk?

[caseyjo]

I'm going to sand it down, but keep the old stickers on it, stain or paint it & most likely use it as a coffee table.....

If you found this old trunk sitting on the road, what would you do with it? Leave it,  take it & sell it to someone outright, or re-finish it? If you were to refinish it, what would you do to it & what would you use it for?

[Stir Young]

I would probably leave it essentially like I found it.  I'd clean off the surface dirt, and leave it at that. I might try to replicate the missing shelf. 

That trunk has a story to tell....too bad it can't talk.  I'd need to consign it to the attic, as I don't have room for it in my living area. 

[Quinn]

You found that on the road? Great find!

I like the coffee table idea.

[caseyjo]

Yup...by someones trash on a main street..people were driving by & not even slowing down to look at it....The BF went driving by & kept going till I talked him into turning around by telling him there would be metal on it for his junk pile....Now he owns the thing because it has history & value.....Men...LOL.

[funesthememorious]

Return it to the Beatles.

 

[Stir Young]

HaHaHa!

[Bob Stepp]

I'm with Stir.......that beautiful piece has stories to tell. By sanding, refinishing and "fixing" you cover all those stories and treat them as if they are unimportant....meaningless. Don't try to make it "new" again......just carefully brush it off, give it a home...the coffee table idea is great....give it a reason to "be" again, let it absorb you and your life...give it more storie to tell.

[caseyjo]

I already started sanding w/ a fine grain sand paper to get off the the top layer of old glue & what-not, but I am leaving the stickers & anything that looks interesting.....I wont paint it afterall....The sanded part looks great.

The truth is my neighbor came over & insisted the trunk had been painted over & over. I grabbed a piece of sandpaper sitting on my shelf & sanded to prove to her it had not been painted. She insisted they were all black back then. I know better. I sanded to prove a point & now I am mad at myself for doing it.

The trunk has it's metal logo....It's a wonderrobe made in the 20's or 30's  by Seaward trunk & bag Co. in Peterburg Va...The company started in 1878 & is still going today....Walmart sells some of it's new trunks.

It also has a bunch of stickers...A old american airlines sticker & a bunch of old stickers from Belhaven college in Jackson Miss. The logo on the sticker is not the same as the one of the building they use today...The college started in the late 1800's is a prestigious Christian Evangelical college

Maybe someone can recognize this insignia (top pic)  for the college at that time...It is in the shape of a star. Seems like I have seen that star someplace befor...Let me know what you all think.

[Jaylee53]

My sentiments exactly....sweet.

[P.A.]

Keep it in case you have a body to dispose of at some point in the future.

[Stir Young]

Yup, I hadn't even thought about that application!

[TeeBubbaDee]

I wouldn't sand or refinish either caseyjo. But I do have a suggestion for cleaning it up. Try using GoJo hand cleaner. When I had my antique shop, GoJo was the first thing I used on almost everything that needed cleaning. It works great on wood, metal, porcelain, leather, etc. Take a section at a time, apply a light coat of GoJo, and then wipe with a clean cloth. Flip the cloth to a clean section and wipe again. Depending on how dirty, you may have to apply the GoJo multiple times to get it clean. Just be careful around the stickers. You might try using a tiny bit of GoJo on a clean cloth, and giving them a quick wipe, just don't let them get wet as the lanolin in the GoJo may loosen the glue.

[caseyjo]

Thanks TBD....I posted above about what I did to the trunk already..I could kick myself...Now it looks like hell w/ only one portion sanded....I suppose I could just finish sanding the one section & go over the rest w the hand cleaner..I used to use Gojo when I did offset printing for a co. I worked for....Do you (by any chance) recognize the star in the college logo above..looks familiar to me.