VIC 1010 Advice needed :

Hi,
I have a customer that has handed me a small pile of retro gear with the instructions to prepare it all for sale. Buried in the boxes was an unboxed, used VIC 1010 with all of its slot covers. Knowing that it was something unusual I did some research to find out what it was before I proceeded to strip, re-cap, check the voltage regulators, retrobrite, and then reassemble it. Having found out its relative rarity I thought it best to ask the community :

How much/little work should I put in before it is presented for sale ?

Is this an item I should preserve "as-is" in untested "barn find" condition ?

Or would it be best to fully refurb, test, clean, retrobrite and looking it best ?

Perhaps somewhere in-between ?

Opinions will vary but personally I would test it in tact and list the results.

A lot of collectors don't want tainted good (retrobrite, recap etc) while those that want those changes to it's condition will do so after sale anyway.

Personally I feel retrobriting wrecks stuff as it makes the plastic more brittle and the yellowing comes back anyway.

Just remove any dirt and dust and maybe clean the edge connector with isopropanol but besides that I would leave it intact. As the other poster writes, retrobright is quite controversial and it is a one-way street. Once it has been treated you can never undo it again and it will turn many people off as it is not without problems.