Halloween may be over, but we would have loved to have this cast iron skeleton coin bank on display. TysyTube Restoration did a fantastic job cleaning up its rusty old bones. We love the creepy action as it tosses coins from its bony hand into its eyeball. If you like the idea, Design Toscano still sells a similar bank.
MW Restoration paid 15 euros for a gumball machine that was in terrible shape. The machine was subjected to decades of wind and salt spray by the North Sea in Germany, along with what appears to be fire damage. But MW was undaunted and disassembled, sandblasted, repaired, and powdercoated the machine to make it look as good as new.
If you’ve ever curbed the rims on your car, you know how awful it can look. But with the proper equipment and expertise, it’s possible to repair damaged rims. Wheel Restore USA shows how their diamond cut wheel lathe can make even heavily damaged wheels look as good as new by removing a thin layer of metal. They also have a wheel-painting robot.
It’s easy to make popcorn in your microwave these days, but there’s something about how popcorn emerges from a classic popcorn maker that makes it more festive. Dr. Restoration got their hands on a 1950s popper called a Corn Pop-O-Mat, stripped off years of rust and grease, and brought the electric appliance back to like-new condition.
We always enjoy watching rusty old things made to look like new. In this video from KILO Restoration, they take the process to the extreme, scrubbing off caked-on rust from a mid-20th-century socket wrench, then painstakingly polishing it back to an amazing mirror chrome finish.
We love watching videos of old things being made as good as new. In this clip, Old Things Never Die got their hands on a vintage mechanical soccer game, disassembled it, sandblasted off the paint and rust, fabricated custom replacement parts, and painstakingly repainted its playfield and players.
The original Hot Wheels Red Baron is one of the most iconic and collectible toy cars ever made. This video from Paul Restorer takes us through the long and painstaking process of disassembling, cleaning, and repairing the classic toy, which needed bodywork, a paint job, new wheels and axles, and fresh packaging.
We’ve always been fascinated by mechanical arcade games. Old Things Never Die shows off a vintage game where players placed bets on horses racing around in circles. It required extensive restoration work to fix its mechanism and return it to its former glory. It’s wonderful to see how fast it spins now.
We’re not sure what this compact German flamethrower was originally used for, but it is a fascinating bit of kit. When SlivkiShow got their hands on it, it was in pretty rough shape, but by the end of this video, it’s looking and working as well as it ever has.
Hand Tool Rescue shows off an amazing workbench vice that can hold oddly-shaped objects. Made by Mantle & Co. in the early 20th century, the vice uses a series of rotating semi-circlular jaws to hold items firmly in place. See the fully-restored vice at 34:00, then check out the original patent for the design.
After impressing us by restoring a vintage pinball machine, Old Things Never Die is back with another project video. This time, they took an antique coin-operated lottery game that tumbled tiny balls inside a metal sphere, then dropped one behind a window at its bottom. The color of the selected ball corresponds to a prize.
Modern pinball machines have hundreds of electronic components and complex wiring harnesses. But back in the day, pinball relied on gravity and simple obstacles made from nails and bent metal. Old Things Never Die got their hands on a time-worn 1930s pinball table and painstakingly restored it to like-new condition.
Masters of Craft walks us through the painstaking process of restoring a 19th-century violin that came to them in a distressed and unplayable condition. The vintage Stradavari replica required heaping helpings of TLC, but the result is impressive.
Yachts can cost millions of dollars. If your pockets aren’t deep enough for that, you could do what Mr HỒ Thánh Chế did, and build your own mini yacht from stuff found in a marine scrapyard. Among the components he rebuilt are a barnacle-covered engine and a fiberglass boat with what looks like a shark bite in its hull.
You might think this object is a rusty bicycle wheel on a stand, but it’s a vintage game of chance that decides who will pay for the next round of drinks. Old Things Never Die tore it down to its components, stripped off the rust, and restored it to original condition. The clicky sound it makes when spun is so satisfying.
The cast iron toys of yesteryear were subject to rusting and corrosion like nothing else. But in the capable hands of Awesome Restorations, old things can look as good as new once more. Watch as they breathe new life into an old 1930s coin bank, sandblasting off the caked-on rust and giving it a shiny coat of enamel paint.
There’s a scene in Terminator 2 where the T-1000’s arm turns into a sword. We’re certain he could have conjured an axe arm if he wanted to. Perhaps it would look like the one that artist Kirill Runz made from a rusty axe he engraved with the T-800 on one side and his molten metal nemesis on the other.
An Omega Seamaster watch can fetch $3000 to $5000, but we’re guessing it was sentimental value behind this time-consuming restoration of a Seamaster that was roasted beyond recognition by a fire. Watch Restoration vlog shared this incredibly satisfying footage of a master watch technician at work.
Lost & Restored got their hands on a vintage pilot’s knife that dates back to the Vietnam War. It landed on their workbench in terrible shape, caked with rust and its stacked leather handle weathered and distressed. But after disassembly, grinding, cleaning, and replacing the leather, the completed knife looks amazing.
The Michelin Man, aka “Bibendum,” is one of the most iconic advertising mascots of all time. Awesome Restorations, got their hands on an antique metal sculpture of the rotund character and sandblasted away years of rust, then repainted it, restoring its former glory. He looked like a toasted marshmallow man before his makeover.
There’s something so satisfying about restoring rusty old objects. This particular item – a gigantic cigarette lighter – is definitely one of the stranger things we’ve seen brought back to life. Sit back and relax as TysyTube takes the beast apart, cleans it up, and makes it good as new. Sandblasting is magic!
What you’re looking at is a 1969 Ural M63 motorcycle. This particular bike sat unused for years, gathering rust on its chassis and drivetrain. But this is exactly the kind of challenge that an expert restorer like Great Idea lives for. After carefully removing the rust, re-plating, galvanizing, and painting parts, the bike looks as good as new.
Doc and Marty would have never let their ride fall into the kind of disrepair that this DeLorean DMC-12 model was in at the start of this video. Honestly, it looks like somebody dropped it into a pond and left it there to rot. Can the folks at Good Restore make this toy look as good as new? The answer is a resounding “yes.”