I can’t make the decision for you, but I can walk you through my process, Choose-Your-Own-Adventure style.
When I buy a piece of copper online, I decide at the point of purchase whether I want to have the piece retinned or not. This is because I have a one-time opportunity to save some money: if I send it directly to the retinner when I buy it, I don’t need to pay for shipping to me and then again when I send it to the retinner. Instead, I pay once for the shipping to the retinner, who receives it, restores it, and then sends it on to me, reusing the same packing materials. I eliminate one leg of shipping and save some time.
But I don’t want to refurbish everything. It costs money, and it’s also a physical process for the piece — the interior is ground out to get the tin off and the exterior is throughly polished. For pieces in rough shape, it’s an easy decision to have them restored right off the bat. But some pieces are in a semi-restored state and I need to decide whether I can accept them as they are or if they need some work before I can enjoy them.
Here’s how I make this decision. To make this a little more fun and interactive, I’m trying out a “Choose-Your-Own-Adventure” format — Follow the link below & click into the various answers and follow the directions to arrive at the end decision I would make in each case.
CREDIT: vintagefrenchcopper.com