Ebay restoration offereings

[hls30.com]

I was perusing ebay today and saw this: http://www.ebay.com/itm/320815397571?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2648

He says:

"this is my second steering wheel that has been restored out of a series 1 240z. this wheel has a slightly more cherry finish and less grain ( unlike the other one i have listed which has more of a grain on the backside ) as this one was in better condition when i recieved it. this wheel i have restored personally and has no clear coat or staining....this wheel has been restored to its original state! i do not know anyone to restore these wheels to these standards!! this wheel has been restored to its original state and the only thing that is not original is the paint. this process took me over 10 weeks to complete and would be fitting for any show i would think. i have seen many that have been restored and i have not seen one to equal this quality. if you have any questions at all please feel free to contact me at any time. ( if you need your current wheel restored i can take a project on, one at a time as this is not a fast process and im very critical of my work as you can see. )

I believe he has the wrong target with his "restoration" efforts', the area within contact plate at the back of the wheel has not even been cleaned! If he thinks he has the rim as it was when it was new-Either he never seen one, or he has forgotten, They were almost a glowing red-just about identical to the raised area on the finger grips at the back of the wheel, with no areas of failed finish with golden highlights at all-you could see the fibers, and their grain, but they were covered in a finish. His result is what you get when you initially sand the rim with 600 grit paper and wipe it down with mineral spirits to get rid of the dust-a cleaned rim with sporadic areas of original finish within area of failed original finish showing the sun-bleached, carrier-starved exposed grain of the imbedded fibers. This is just the first step to a truy restored steering wheel.

What do you guys think?

I have a work program that has disabled my clipboard, otherwise I would have pasted his pictures. I'll paste them here later-unless someone beats me to it.

Edited September 10, 2012 by hls30.com

[JonnyRock]

Not mentioned in the above post, he's asking $580 for what you see in these pictures! :stupid:

[psdenno]

The steering wheel spokes appear to have been clear coated, although he says they're not, and look a little rough. I've seen better restorations, so I have to agree with him when he says, "i do not know anyone to restore these wheels to these standards!!".

Here's a somewhat better job.

http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/thread21485.html

Dennis

[Mikes Z car]

If he gets $580 for that I will sell the one off of my car and drive with vise grips

[hls30.com]

I didn't even get to his price! I tripped over the fact that he thinks a new 240Z steering wheel rim had areas that had good finish, areas that had failing finish and areas that had no finish...instead of one consistent good finish. Then I noticed the area on the back where the contacts are made-no diss-assembly or cleaning there...

Refinishing the rim is the challenge in restoring the steering wheel. You don't want any of the old finish left on, before you refinish it, or it will show through. Cleaning up what is there is fine if the original finish is still good, that isn't the case here.

I just cant fathom how someone would think that what amounts to giving a failing finish a good scrubbing without actually repairing or removing the previous finish would equate to restoring it to its original finished state.

Evidently he thinks he understands restoration...I wonder what the paint on his car looks like.

Edited September 10, 2012 by hls30.com

[Reverend]

What the freck! Z prices had gone up 200%