I forgot to mention that if you're also interested in assessing the reliability of news stories, I suggest you try Ground News at https://ground.news/backyard
It's a website and app that compares how the same story is covered by different news media outlets highlighting the political bias and reliability ranking of each one. They sponsored my last video, but not this one, so I'm writing this out of my own free will. So far I'm enjoying it.

The most disgusting type of fake like this is "animal rescue" type videos where the animal abusers that run the channel will, for example, adopt a cat, film them being checked out by a vet, and then put them in real danger repeatedly (putting them in a pit with venomous snakes, for instance), sometimes even resulting in their death. They then "rescue" the animal from the horrible situation that they put the animal in, then cut to them being checked out by the vet from when they got the animal.

It's absolutely disgusting.

What an absolute power move making a video on how to spot fake restoration videos after being accused of it.

If the video start with a dude walking outside, poking trash and randomly finding something on the mud or a pile of trash, i automatically click off because it's 90% fake

This is exactly like how after that one guy’s survival channel came out, hundreds of copy channels where they were clearly using heavy machinery and fake survival skills to build “mansion huts,” in the jungle.

This reminds me of those "underground swimming pool dug by primitive tools" that are almost all faked in SEAsia

I like some of the "mild fake" videos where it's clear the point is to showcase how to fix everyday objects that an ordinary person might realistically need to fix. I saw one where the author literally left a cast iron pan out in the rain for like a week and let it rust, and then went to town showing how you (relatively) easily restore it, with the point being that cast iron pans quite literally can and should last you a lifetime, even if you mess up and let it rust. There is a significant difference between people messing up antiques for content, and people messing up cheap(ish) everyday objects to show how to fix it for the educational aspect of it.

Regardless of whether it's fake or not, i wish they didn't use the most aggresive techniques to "restore" them like evaporust and sandblasting. It might encourage people to ruin gun finishes that could be salvaged.

If the "mild fake" videos would be done honestly, they would give interesting information tbh. The content creator could demonstrate the difference before and after the restoration and teach about permanent damage and the importance of equipmant maintenance

first person i’ve seen to ACTUALLY avoid witch hunting/harassment, the effort of creating your own examples is very admirable

I believe a lot of the fake electronics restoration videos are also "filmed in reverse". That is, taking a perfectly working item and slowly destroying it, while editing the final video with the steps somewhat reversed. Elliot Coll did a few videos calling this out.

I saw a "restoration" video of a car yesterday. They started with a Ford sedan that had been basically covered in mud, inside and out. They cleaned the car all in close up footage and stuff became really clean. And when they where done, the "after" picture was of a big pickup truck XD

This video is extremely refreshing to watch. I can always respect someone who has the knowledge to explain the intricacies of their craft and the integrity to advise others on how to recognize when they're being misled when it comes to their craft; like a small-town car mechanic that doesn't even attempt to upsell you on repairs that he knows you don't need. Great video, man. Subbed.

These gun restoration videos have been popping up in my feed more and more like crazy. I never click on them because my brain instinctly sensed that they were scams like those popular mud hut building videos. This is the 1st video I clicked on talking about proving that I was right. Thank you for this informative video.

I remember a few years ago seeing a clearly faked restoration of a "Vietnam Zippo" but the design on it was from like 2015 so obviously the presenter had bought the thing recently, buried it in his backyard for a week, then "restored" it.

My favourite is when they "restore" an object by replacing every piece of the original so that nothing remains, so in actuality they just destroyed the original and built a replica.

I've always thought that rust bluing was outside of my reach, aside from the instant cold blue solutions. After your first restoration video I felt comfortable enough to attempt a diy bluing.  I've got to say you make it look simple, and are easy to follow.  My first project came out very nice.

As someone who has been dealing with antiques for decades, I could spot the fake rust and corrosion immediately.
Thank you for this video, it needs to be said more.

As restorer for 50 years, I see many videos where the objects in question all look to have the same extreme amount of distress. This was never the case for restoration I undertook, even some of the most challenging items never looked as bad as those on YouTube Videos.

There is a second thing to look out for. "Restoration" videos where the "restorer" basically destroys the value of the object by using incorrect methods, and makes something that looks shiny but the result is useless.

I'm reminded of an "antique violin restoration" I saw a bit back where the first thing the guy did was get out his DeWalt orbital sander and sand all the finish off the violin, and later refinish it in polyurethane gloss. That's NOT how you restore a genuine antique violin, especially one that might have been worth some money. It does make something to hang on the wall at the bar, where the smoke and grease can be wiped off it periodically using some harsh cleaner.