Rules

Take pictures of everything you're doing. When you think you've taken enough pictures, take more. When I first began restoring, especially cars, I wanted to return whatever I was working on back to the condition I found it. I very soon realized how wrong this became. Any number of individuals had previously worked on the car and applied their own level of expertise which more often than not was incorrect.

When I disassemble a piece I remove ALL the parts and place into separately labeled ziplock bags. When assembly is next, these pieces are quickly retrieved and identified. An important note, although I have safely secured all pieces in the disassembly, when time comes to put the piece back together I always find additional pieces left over. This, I am not worried about. I have come to understand that all engineers in the design process purposefully add pieces to their project that are not requir

I believe this is a saying that artists frequently use, or so I imagine. When I think I've finished a piece, and am looking at what I believe is it's completed stage, I then begin to wonder what else is needed. Know when the project is complete. Move on to the next.

I very quickly learned this rule. Perhaps this needs to be Number 1, as if there is any order of importance (there isn't). I need to first determine any techniques required that I could not perform. Fortunately, for some of these, I was able to take classes at a local community college to learn. For  other techniques, I scoured local businesses who were professionals in their specific areas and was able to use these individuals to rescue me in times of trouble.