Dear V-8 Buick experts on interior restoration, I'm suffering from the usual misery of restoration project "scope creep" . . . . This is getting ahead of myself a bit, but it would help me to get some idea of what can be done on the chrome horn bar that was fitted to some 64-65 Buick Specials and Skylarks: My initial "long range" thoughts on restoring this part was to try as best as possible to clean up and polish the chrome, using some abrasives to at least camouflage the pitting. I then optimistically hoped that I could repaint the central black part to match. I hadn't thought too much about the mechanism, but now thinking about it, I really don't like the horn action. It is slow to activate and therefore poses a danger in our "constantly distracted" world. Would updating springs help? I'm a little worried that this sort of amateurish "clean-up and patch-up" will result in something that is - amateurish and unpleasant. I can see that the plastic part of the steering wheel can be restored up to standards that won't be embarrassing. However, I've never seen anything to restore these sorts of parts. Can suitably skilled "elbow grease" make this sort part into something that makes a daily-driver still look spiffy (and function safely?) Is there any sort of professional restorations for these sort of parts and . . . . should I dare to ask how much? I'm pondering a plan-B for this part of the car, and it would help me to see if this is something I really can hope to keep original without having to get a second mortgage to do it. What say you folks who have lived with this part . . . . can it be saved - and if so - how? Thanks once more for letting me pick your brains a bit! :Smarty: Cheers, Edouard :beer
Would buy another really nice used one. They come up on eBay periodically and are relatively inexpensive. Way less expensive than restoring a mediocre one.
Thanks - haven't been lucky on that (Re: 64-65 steering wheel horn bar) Hi Dan and V-8 Buick interior decorators, Thanks for confirming my suspicious about trying to restore one. I've never looked extremely carefully at the eBay offerings, but I never saw something that really looked hugely better than the one I had. In most cases the black center part wasn't as damages as on the one for my trusty wagon, but the chrome always looks . . . . . 40+ years old. However, I could have been asleep at the switch when a better quality horn bar went on sale. So I'll keep my eye's peeled. Cheers, Edouard :beer
