Judy, I'd wager it's worth every penny and more of the $1,595 one that is similar even with the socket that has been changed out. I still think it's a lamp from the Arts & Craft period (turn of the century) and most likely (after seeing the shade) it's slag. I think it's gorgeous, green included, and don't you dare clean it now that we've seen it. BTW...did I mention, I crave that lamp? That's just too bad about Dh's sis. LOL Anyway...clean the slag with a damp cloth. It's not as fragile as mica. Have you found any markings on the metal? Look around the rim and on the underside. I hope you're going to keep it. Really...it's simply marvelous.

brickeyee, I say the rust will reappear because oxygen and moisture (that's what you meant to type, not "mosite"?) are always present. We live in WNY, and the humidity is high in the summer. I'm afraid that leaving those cast iron parts nice and clean will mean rust sooner or later; iron doesn't have to be wet to rust, it just needs moisture in the air. So, as you say, one or the other has to be restricted, and that is the problem, I guess. There is a very little bit of the original finish on these parts, just a little, but it looks as though they were either painted gold or perhaps bronzed. (Although I have to ask what happened to the bronze if that is the case. The finish is left on some of the high-relief areas, not in the crevices, and you'd think it would wear off of the high points first.) Argh. My husband just wants to hang it as is, but once it's up, it's up. And I don't like the rust.

Worst case, remove the entire sink or lavatory and carry it out to the lawn to work from the accessible side. A Dremel tool will grind off any metal parts necessary.

Gosh you guys, I'd really like to save the tr*ucks. My son would love to play w/them, and I prefer not to add to the landfills (which is why I use cloth diapers, but that's neither here nor there), but I am not really into sanding off rust. I have several other projects on my plate, and two kids (5 and 10 months). My DH doesn't want to save the tr*ucks so if they get saved it's b/c I do the work. How much work am I looking at to sand the rust? The paint is coming off in sheets so I don't think getting the paint off will be an issue, but the rust... Can anyone estimate how many hours of sanding I might be doing? I think the bedz are almost 100% corroded under the paint, and the cab of one is also very rusty. Does anyone know the name of the product that concretenprimroses is talking about? DH and I talked it over, if I do the work then he thinks it's worth buying paint/primer etc to salvage the tr*ucks, but I really don't want to get started, then find it's waaaay over my head, and have the tr*ucks PLUS restoration products to deal with. I do that a lot: I get super-excited about a project, I get the stuff I need to accomplish said project, I start the project, then I have a problem and I drop the project and I totally drag my feet finishing -- IF I finish. Are these tr*ucks a 5-hour project that I can finish quickly and will give me the immediate satisfaction I need to keep up my momentum? Thanks for listening and for your feedback :-)