Disappearing restorations.

[ahicks]

Sounds like he's trying to say some restorations, no matter how carefully done, are never going to be worth what you have into them. While I agree wholeheartedly, and that is a factor in project I'm considering, I know for a fact others could care less, and I get that too. For those folks, they approach the restoration strictly as a hobby - and we know many hobbies are impossible to justify from a cost perspective..... Cars, boats, planes, guns, whatever, there are MANY examples where there's not much chance of making even 10 cents an hour on the labor it took to see the project through. Those aren't about the money, or the time.... That's just the way it is. -Al

P.S. - It is kinda cool to see something you had a hand in sitting in a museum....

 

[fishrdan]

I think people lose interest, bite off more than they can chew, or life gets in the way. I know I couldn't complete the rebuild I did on my 18'er at this time, no spare time...

I just priced a brand spanking new 18' Crestliner close to how I built my boat, $42K... I have less than $5k into my 2001 Crestliner SuperHawk rebuild, and built it how I wanted it, something I couldn't have bought from the factory. The boat and trailer were essentially free (sold unneeded stuff) and cheap parts back in 07-08 when the economy stunk, made for a inexpensive build. Not sure I could pull this off now for double the cost, even if I had the time....

 

[GA_Boater]

I don't think that projects are disappearing as much as the person doing the project leaves. Sure, some die on the vine as with anything when people lose interest or it becomes a money pit.

We have people come in and start projects, find the answers they're looking for and disappear. We've seen some of them back after a long delay and say it was finished, but now they have another issue needing help. Some just ride off into the sunset happy as a clam in their refurbed boat and don't look back to give updates.

 

[Old Ironmaker]

There is a difference between a refurbish and a restoration for anything. Both can get you a huge amount of satisfaction no matter how small a package. Just this past spring I uncover the 21 year old 6 chair outdoor patio set. The glass is smashed and the chairs aren't in much better shape. The cushions are stored indoors. My wife recovered them in Sunbrella and they turned out great, cost $120.00 on sale. I'm not to excited about the 70's style pattern though. We went patio set shopping and my jaw dropped. To replace with a similar set was going to set us back $2500.00 or more. I used cedar fence boards and cut them to fit where the glass was. Around 40 bucks. I showed my Lady how to sand the Aluminum on the tables and chairs, cleaned them well with Spray 9 before and after sanding. Cost a bit of Spray 9, basically sweat equity only. I went out and bought 1 can of acrylic/enamel from Home Hardware, their brand 3 bucks a can cheaper than Rustoleum. $4.99. 2 coats for each chair cost an additional $65.00 in paint. The thing looks brand new. I went through a pound of stainless woodscrews, not sure how much they were. So for about $225.00 CDN we have a new patio set. Taxes on those new sets is more than that. They look fantastic and it gave the both of us great pride and no one that sat in them this past year were given a tutorial in refurbishing patio sets. I wouldn't call it a restoration myself. If I paid to replace the glass, maybe.

I forgot to add in a tube of JB Weld where some of the aluminum split. That stuff isn't cheap.

 

[Old Ironmaker]

At what cost, though? Just because something CAN be done doesn't mean it SHOULD be done. There is little point in spending 10K to restore something that is only worth 5K when the restoration is done. .

That happens all the time shrew . Usually by car nuts that have money to spend. Just watched an episode of Chasing Classic Cars. There was as a resto mod done on a 1969 Camaro. It went for 80K at Barret Jackson and the guy had $160,000.00 in it. So he got $80,000.00 worth of satisfaction. And you know the money bags owner most likely never touched the car when the job was underway.