HI,
I have created a Sandboxed webpart with some simple text properties. When I add this webpart I can edit the values of those properties with the editor in the sidebar. I now edit my .webpart file and add default value for the property "Danny". When I deply the value is not set. I recreated same project for SharePoint 2010. There the code works.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?><webParts><webPart xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/WebPart/v3"><metaData><type name="SharePointProject1.VisualWebPart1.VisualWebPart1, $SharePoint.Project.AssemblyFullName$" /><importErrorMessage>$Resources:core,ImportErrorMessage;</importErrorMessage></metaData><data><properties><property name="Title" type="string">SharePointProject1 - VisualWebPart1</property><property name="Description" type="string">My Visual Web Part</property><property name="Danny" type="string">My Custom Property Value</property></properties></data></webPart></webParts>