Jay: Nice of you to have concern for your friend and mentor, but if your buddy is losing interest it is probably for reasons you can't fix. While we all have ego's and like to see our name in print and mentioned verbally, he probably isn't going to get much of that from his customers. They have paid him to perform a service and just like they don't credit every person who worked on their car (upholstery, engine, etc) they probably aren't going to mention him either.

We have a lot of pros on this forum who build and paint things for others, and I bet very few of them get mentioned in magazine articles or at shows. Car owners tend to not mention these people unless asked, I would imagine.

If it is truly his passion, he is doing this for other reasons.........the love of shaping metal, and the need to put bread on the table. Please don't think this is unsympathetic, as we all suffer burn out, even us hobbyists, but if he is turned off because of the reasons you cited, he is in the business for the wrong reasons. JMO.

Don