Greetings, fellow gear heads and grease monkeys. Welcome to another great issue of Classic Car Round-Up. For this month, I will talk a little about grease cans.
Grease cans are great for entry level collectors. They’re plentiful, small, and relatively inexpensive. Like any other gas station collectible, there is a vast array of grease cans of different sizes and styles. The sizes are 1.35 ounces, 1, 3, 5, 10, 15, and 25 pound containers, there is also the bulk 30 gallon barrels that are used by quick lubes.
The most desired of the grease cans is the 1-lb. cans because they’re small enough that they don't take much room on the shelf, and much like oil cans the graphic grease cans in different sizes do draw more desire.
Many collectors that have specialized in a certain oil company may also collect the grease cans from that company while others collect the ones that catch their fancy.
Other collectors like to collect the early grease cans from any company and they are the collector that has the cool early gas pumps and signs. Another form of grease can collector is the collector that likes to get them all. That collector likes to have all the sizes, brands, styles, and they want it to be in mint condition. For the most part, collectors of any kind have a few grease cans in their collection.
The 1-lb. cans have three different styles : the tall versions like the pyramid, the short fat ones like the Texaco cans, and the early style is a short thin style like the Oilzum and Veedol. The early cans have lids that go over the can and have a ridge to seal it. The newer short grease cans are the same way, but the tall style have the lid inside the can and are opened with a flat object, usually a screwdriver.
My favorite cans are the tall version which have better graphics and are easy to stack. But, if a great early can comes along I'll jump on it.