Another thing I am facing in the near future it paint...I really want to avoid polishing it for the reasons of the upkeep. Thinking white, with some simple decals to keep it cheaper. I really like a white base with black maybe too.

Having a polished plane is akin to having a mistress with a cocaine habit...no matter how much you provide, it's never enough. A long human life is about 650,000 hours, which isn't nearly enough time to properly polish a 170.

When I bought my plane, which is half bare metal, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I've done a lot of bonehead things as a pilot, but by far the stupidest thing I ever did was rub a silver-dollar-size piece of the bare metal fuselage with aluminum polish to see what it would look like.

I should have immediately sprayed the patch with vinegar and then drunk until I forgot what I'd seen, but I didn't. Instead I began chasing the perfect polish job like Gollum chasing that damn ring. And I looked about like Gollum by the time I got the airplane polished, far from perfectly to say the least. Of course by the time you get the tail polished the nose has gone dull...it's truly endless.

I've finally been fatigued to the point of caring less about the condition of the polish job, but there's still 20 or 30 hours a year spent just barely maintaining a shine. A couple times a year I spend three days or so polishing her up. Then I hire someone to fly her around the patch so I can appreciate all my hard work and swear I'll never own another bare metal plane.

Zzz wrote:....As for paint, there was a picture of a Murphy Rebel that I found a few years back, where the finish looked almost like anodization. I've always wondered if there was a process similar to Alodine that would provide good corrosion and finish protection without the weight of paint.

Yes there is, I call it a "protective crust"-- common on airplanes with what I call the "Alaskan Bare" finish.
Some refer into it as a patina. Easy to achieve-- just strip the airplane and polish it, the patina comes along a few years later when you get tired of keeping up on the polishing.

FWIW the 1940's & 50's airplanes seem to take a way better polish than later airplanes.
IMHO they used a higher grade of alclad back then.
Both my 48 170 and 53 180 were corrosion free inside and out, not so my 64 150--
it had plenty of that pre-corrosion white dust inside the wings, even just a couple years after they were rebuilt.

To anyone that has had issues with field approvals or has a bad taste in their mouth about dealing with such things, I suggest giving it another go if it has reasonable data supporting it. Today I was told my field approval for my custom panel with my original T yoke shortened was APPROVED. This seems to be a fairly big feat considering what I have learned in the last few months. I had all my ducks in a row and my IA spent good time on preparing the paperwork.

From here forward it is finishing the radio mounting rack in the center and getting it painted up and installed to start putting in instruments, controls and wiring.

That's great! Glad to hear things are on-course

bigrenna wrote:

hotrod180 wrote:Yes, the control column can be shortened to solve the problem,

Really??? I'd love to be in the room when the PMI gives approval for that.

You were saying, Greg? Sorry if we can't understand you with that mouthful of crow.

Way to go Todd and Kyle!!!

Be sure to put that person on your Christmas card list!
Glad to hear you got it approved. Honestly I didn't think it possible in today's day and age.
You found a good guy in the FAA.

kygreen229 wrote:... Today I was told my field approval for my custom panel with my original T yoke shortened was APPROVED. This seems to be a fairly big feat considering what I have learned in the last few months. I had all my ducks in a row and my IA spent good time on preparing the paperwork. .....

Congratulations! I must say I am surprised, but it just goes to show you what can be accomplished with a can-do attitude. Shame on me for being a pessimist!

Summer is busssssyyyyy.....trying to still make some progress on the 170. Any opinions on painting the firewall? I have to say I dont think I really have seen any planes with painted firewalls. I was going to just potentially paint it black with some Imron we have when I do the glare shield. Any disadvantages?

kygreen229 wrote:Summer is busssssyyyyy.....trying to still make some progress on the 170. Any opinions on painting the firewall? I have to say I dont think I really have seen any planes with painted firewalls. I was going to just potentially paint it black with some Imron we have when I do the glare shield. Any disadvantages?

Guessing you kept the stock one, and are not using the DelAir stainless steel replacement firewall? When I updated my FWF I went with the DelAir stainless steel, and it looks great without paint. My original one that came out had some green paint, or possibly alodine on it. If you paint it I think I'd paint it white, not black, to make drips and cracks easier to see. Whether to do it at all might depend on your operating environment, e.g. corrosive salt air much?

I agree with DP that white would be a better color. My 180 is green, but that's just the zinc chromate.

Yea black seems it would hide a lot which would ultimately not be a good thing. White would show oil leaks or anything unusual pretty easy. The firewall is original not the stainless from Del-Air.

I'll probably be painting mine on 95D vs swapping to stainless and I plan to use a light gray - same as the landing gear and other metal bits.
All the advantages of white but less conspicuous when you open the cowl.
just another thought.

The firewall was painted white on my last airplane (C150/150TD). Not only made it easier to spot oil leaks etc, but really brightened up the engine compartment & made it easier to see through the little oil doors. I would definitely advise against black or a similar dark color.

thanks for the advice, looks like if anything a light color it is. Right now I am trying to form pieces for my "new" lower nose bowl. What a pain! I'm so close to being able to start putting this thing together its killing me.

Why not just polish the firewall if it's bare aluminum?

It wouldn't take that long and it won't show scratches like paint will when you're hanging the engine back on.

The engine and exhaust in the 170 are a fair ways off the firewall, but to be on the safe side, I'd consider using high temp paint, or just leave it bare aluminum.

I would not polish it.

MTV

Original 170 firewalls are galvanized steel, don't polish the zinc off or it will rust.

Tim

I have a used but nearly new windshield out of a 52 170B, using this for my 55. Can i install it before installing the wings or does it make sense to wait on that for fitment? Mainly curious as it could have to sit outside a bit here and there with other maintenance and projects going on.

I haven't had to do a windshield, and I don't know if there's a logical order to things, but I remember a photo on BCP of RobW56 standing in his windshield opening working on the topside of his wings or fuselage. It sure looked convenient.
BTW, one-piece, or two-piece windshield?
Thanks for continuing to post your progress here.
-DP

Joe Dunlap is putting a new panel and interior into Lucky Rose. Almost done (hasn't got to the headliner or windshield yet).



(Leather seats with carbon fiber center panel)