My favorite part is the story, going for a walk with the Mrs... etc Since when do people go for walks in New Jersey, especially along commercial roads (i.e. with antique shops)? Just kidding. I bet some of those nice old NJ towns have some good antique shops. My dad's family is from Jersey, but last time I was there a few months ago for a wedding it was out by Long Branch / the water there, and boy was that a no-man's-land. No pumas with Otto Deutsch scales there.

Anyhoo - I'm curious why you sanded all the way up to 8K? In my (very limited, just getting into restores) experience going past 2K before going to polshing compounds / buffer (in my case a dremel) wouldnt make much difference? ALso how many hours did the whole project take - just curious?

And - most importantly - how does she cut hair?