Watching an old episode of 'junk & disorderly' (it was a cold, wet afternoon), I noticed Henry Cole was asking thirty quid for a rusty, old Gunk tin. I thought I've got one of them and sure enough in the garage was one, even with some contents. Checked eBay prices and someone was asking for forty-five quid for one!
Cole was flogging old oil cans. I used to buy Castrol XL, GTX and Duckhams Q, put the contents in the engine, put the old oil in the can and dispose of it. I must have thrown away what is now possibly worth hundreds.
I'm thinking about doing an inventory of what's in the garage and shed, checking eBay prices and trying to flog them.
I reckon someone like Ted could probably make a fortune from what he's got lying around.
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I'm getting the smell :)..
Swarfega anyone?
Back in the day when products actually did what they said on the tin and aggravated skin conditions :O
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>>I'm getting the smell :)..
I used to run a two-stroke on Castrol R, clean the engine with Gunk and take it for a run.
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I’ve got a tin of Castrol water pump grease in my garage . Must be nearly 40 years old. Any advances on that ?
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A dirty yellow spray can of Grako Sprazon belt dressing ....from Graton & Knight Ltd Herts. No idea how old it is (or indeed what it is) but it predates my 1980 TR7, which still has its original very occasionally dressed fan/alternator belt. I used to give the cam and poly-v belts on our old Focus the occasional squirt. They lasted the life of the car (21yrs and 160,000+ miles.
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>> A dirty yellow spray can of Grako Sprazon belt dressing
Shelf in my garage has can of Filtrate plus grease. It now says Lithium but it once had a sticker over as the contents were graphited. Thick black stuff used on wheel and bottom bracket bearings on my bikes.
Bought it from Warner cycles in Guiseley c1976.
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>> I'm getting the smell :)..
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>> Swarfega anyone?
Blimey I remember that. Mum bought a tin of it when I got interested in messing with push bikes aged c15 and was covered in grease and chain oil.
There's still a product marketed under the Swarfega brand but it's got an orangey smell. We had some until recently by the kitchen sink which had abrasive bits in; what I think used to be calle Tufanega.
Looking around the accessory stiff at the caravan show today I was surprised to find one of the leading brands of fluid for chemical toilets still contains Formaldehyde. Remember that in the chemical khazi at scout/school camps.
Thye CAMC site at Southport, where we were for Christmas, had signs asking customers to avoid Formaldehyde as it's harmful particularly in septic tank type setups. I'd thought it long gone.
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>> Swarfega anyone?
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>> Back in the day when products actually did what they said on the tin and
>> aggravated skin conditions :O
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The green stuff was for men! The new orange stuff is for wimps - with no skin irritation as a side effect.
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Pah ! Swarfega ? Girly stuff !
For the odd time that I get my hands oily I use cellulose thinners ! I have to admit to wearing nitrile gloves now though.
Oil and grease is not good for my nail varnish !
Ted
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>> Swarfega anyone? Back in the day when products actually did what they said on the tin and aggravated skin conditions :O
The green stuff was for men! The new orange stuff is for wimps - with no skin irritation as a side effect. >>
I have a small pot of green Swarfega bought within the last few years, which looks and smells right, tho the label is different and calls itself 'Classic'. Not sure how something like Swarfega could ever be classic, but who knows ?
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we still have this..
as Posted on the HJ forum a while back
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=197062
Last edited by: ORB>> on Sat 21 Feb 26 at 18:19
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I certainly have too much stuff, Tubby ! Sadly, I tripped in the garage last week, reached out and stopped falling by grabbing a set of 6 shelves which promptly
fell over. On those shelves were over 200 CDs, plastic boxes of consumables, empty glass jars and various other useful bits and pieces. All over the floor ! Only 5 of the boxes opened, Over a thousand split pins, a couple of dozen star washers, all my Dowty seals and a box of several hundred very small washers !
Sorted the CDs out first, not too many jewel cases broken. Sadly mixed up were the 6 cases from the CDs in the car changer which I'd been keeping separate. The other stuff was swept up with a handbrush and shovel and put into a Tupperware. Sorted out on the bench, I kept the stars and Dowtys and the larger split pins. The rest went in the bin. Serves me right for hoarding. The shelves are now secure !
Nothing too valuable here, I think, I do have a set of Lancaster ring spanners, a light meter in a canvas case and 60 OO gauge steam locos ! No Southern Railway, I'm afraid, Zeddo !
Ted
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I've got a can of Molyslip somewhere in the garage.
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I've got some tall white & blue tins with long mails in, came from parents house, and they are National Dried Milk. I'm sure some of you might remember them first time around but a bit before my time!!
These! share.google/kvDxgFLfTEFnJNRmb
Also have the new fangled orange Swarfega, bought many years ago probably in Makro.
Last edited by: smokie on Sat 21 Feb 26 at 23:16
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Both my parents and Mrs B's had those in their garage/shed.
Mind you we had/have tins that once held SMA, the modern commercial equivalent.
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I still have an SMA tin from when the kids were babies. Eldest now 55 ! Storagewise, I have a magnificent collection of Azera coffee tins. Smaller, low volume items are in Flutter Butter containers. Plastic, see-through,, they screw together vertically with the top one having a lid. You can stack them as high as you like but I have mine 5 high.
My daughter bought us an initial one and I later rang the suppliers to see if I could buy empty ones. They were pleased to supply me with a box of 50 @50p each
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>>I still have an SMA tin from when the kids were babies
I've a large tub of Vaseline (looking very yellow) from the same era (eldest 49). You can only put so much on battery terminals. She made SWMBO throw away a small pot in the bathroom because it was beyond its best before date. Why do they put best before dates on Vaseline, don't they know the age of its origins: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaseline
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I've got a bit of thing about old tins, got a little collection of mainly tobacco tins although I do have a large tinplate oxo tin.
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Sod's law! My rusty tin of Gunk has started leaking, what remains of its contents, out of its rusty bottom onto a wooden shelf, which is soaking it up. The garage smells strongly of Gunk and, no doubt, will for a very long time.
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>> Sod's law! My rusty tin of Gunk has started leaking, what remains of its contents,
>> out of its rusty bottom onto a wooden shelf, which is soaking it up. The
>> garage smells strongly of Gunk and, no doubt, will for a very long time.
>>
Any chance of popping round for a sniff please? In return I'll bring half a gallon of creosote:)
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Gunk - Fullchat
