Hobbies And Interests
Cosmetic Restoration
Cosmetic restoration of vintage toys is primarily done to toys that are in fairly good condition but are covered by years of accumulated grime. In the case of Hot Wheels cars, most of this grime tends to accumulate in the interior of the car, the base and the doors, as this is where most children pick up the cars. It is important to consider when restoring these cars that the tampos, or decals, will very easily rub off if you use a chemical that is too harsh. It is best in all cases to use normal dish soap diluted with water at the end of a cotton swab. This will thoroughly clean practically any dirt that may have settled on your Hot Wheels car.
Wheels
The wheels of your Hot Wheels cars usually take the most damage of all the parts of the car. Unfortunately, restoring the original wheels onto the car usually means having to take the car apart. To do this, find a vehicle that has similar working wheels to the nonworking wheels on the vehicle that you're restoring. Drill out the rivet on the base of both cars with an electric drill and then swap the working wheels for the nonworking wheels. When completed, snap the chassis back onto the body of the Hot Wheels car and use a soldering gun to secure the chassis to the body at the hole where the rivet was located.
Refurbishment
A refurbishment of the Hot Wheels car takes replacing the wheels of the car and a full cleaning of the car into account. In a refurbishment, disassemble the car completely as you would if you were simply replacing the wheels and then while the car is taken apart, clean all the available surface areas with the soap and water mixture that you would use if you were simply cleaning up the car. This is slightly less work than like-new restoration but is a more in-depth repair of the car than the other options available to you.
Like-new Restoration
Like-new restoration of a Hot Wheels car is far more complicated than many might expect. You have to completely disassemble the car and then strip away the paint. Once this is done, you have to prime and paint the car, clean the interior and replace the wheels. Finally, you have to find any replacement parts that you may need. While this may sound easy, there are no companies that produce parts such as windshields or opening hoods for Hot Wheels cars except Hot Wheels themselves. This means that you may have to look online to find donor vehicles that match your vehicle's casting with parts you can use. Once you have done this, you need to repaint the vehicle and then reassemble it. Most difficult of all is finding replacement decals for the cars once you've got the car put back together, though. You may have to have them specially made if you can't paint them yourself.