Well Im getting that much closer to a polished airplane... I'm about 70% there with stripping the fuselage which feels pretty good.

No experience yet... but I thought it would be worth mentioning the really awesome conversation I just had with Bob McHugh over at Nuvite. He spent about 45 min with me on the phone going over exactly how to get the Skywagon to be nice and shinny. Top notch customer service.

Stay tuned for pics...

Looking forward to seeing the results! Maybe it will convince me to do the same.

Might want one of these... I used to have a polished 170A N3853V... a TON of work (but beautiful)
Wish I had run across this tool back in the day...

http://www.airmarktools.com/services/polishers/a8277.html

Oh yeah, and they're REALLY expensive... but what's your time worth?

avrtist wrote:Might want one of these... I used to have a polished 170 N3853V... a TON of work (but beautiful)
Wish I had run across this tool back n the day...

http://www.airmarktools.com/services/polishers/a8277.html

Oh yeah, and they're REALLY expensive... but what's your time worth?

We've got one at work for the Gulfstreams. They do good work fast.. and you will be as black as your tires in an hour. BTDT-

Guys:

Does the polisher work off air or does it have its own motor?

Thanks!

Big Rena:

How's the paint removal process coming? I would be really curious to know if you weighed the bird before and after and how much weight you lost.

Thanks for posting all the pictures and giving info on your progress. The aircraft supply business should probably start giving you a commission.

Regards, Larry

There used to be a gent that showed up at Sun N Fun with a "Golden age classic" monoplane, which was highly polished. I looked at that thing a couple times, and couldn't believe the level of polish and detail. The WHEEL WELLS were polished, fer crying out loud.

So, one day I came wandering past that thing, and there was a crowd surrounding the airplane. I was curious as to what was going on.....so I elbowed my way in so I could see what was going on. The owner, who was well into his sixties (and to be honest, maybe his seventies) was sitting there in a lawn chair, with a cocktail in his hand, fully equipped with sunglasses, etc.

At the airplane was a VERY attractive "trophy wife" type, fully equipped with a rather compact bikini (which I might add was rather overly full to overflowing) and two polishing rags......polishing the aforementioned airplane.

THAT right there was the ONLY instance I've ever seen that makes sense to have and maintain a polished airplane.

No offense, Bigrenna, but I'm hoping you're on that same wavelength with the upcoming photos......

MTV

mtv wrote:...sitting there in a lawn chair, with a cocktail in his hand, fully equipped with sunglasses, etc.

At the airplane was a VERY attractive "trophy wife" type, fully equipped with a rather compact bikini (which I might add was rather overly full to overflowing) and two polishing rags......polishing the aforementioned airplane.

MTV

Now that's funny - even Rose is laughing!

It IS a bit wacky to polish one's plane... but it makes a thing of beauty even more beautiful!
I'm grateful to keep her in high and dry N.E. Calif., hangared and heated. Still, it's a buncha hours to keep her shiny!
The Cyclo polisher is pretty much the time-honored implement of torture:
http://www.cyclotoolmakers.com/index1.php
Looking forward to seeing the results!

88H wrote:Guys:

Does the polisher work off air or does it have its own motor?

Thanks!

Big Rena:

How's the paint removal process coming? I would be really curious to know if you weighed the bird before and after and how much weight you lost.

Thanks for posting all the pictures and giving info on your progress. The aircraft supply business should probably start giving you a commission.

Regards, Larry

Larry,

The airmark drum buffers are pneumatic.

http://www.airmarktools.com/services/polishers/ah13.html

Just beware that drum polishers use LOTS of air. You need a serious air supply to run one. Otherwise they do work real good and help make a rather long and tedious project shorter. My buddy uses one to keep his Spartan Executive looking like a mirror.

+1 on the Cyclo. It's the classic upper body workout.

But, get ready, once you mainline that Nuvite stuff, there's no going back. Better rig up a bed in the hangar cuz once you get into it, you will be useless.

Cant be any worse than the stripping Ive been doing... I'm already intimate with punishment...

Got the lion's share of stripping on the fuze done today. Bunch of A-holes in the past sanded a bunch of places before last paint job. Gonna take TONS of work to get it right. Started experimenting with the Nuvite F9. I have to order some more elbow grease.

Man you think of everything...scalp protectors on the trailing edges! I've actually seen lots of hair and skin left on the flaps and ailerons !



I tried polishing for a while...glad to see it go and the end of that ordeal!

Best of luck to you as you seem to have unendless energy!

Ps... The fuselage is nothing compared to the underside of the wings! Well for me anyway!

Bkn

You don't want a drum polisher, you want a good variable speed "compounding" polisher like the Milwaukee 5460-6 that you will use once to condition the surface and then you want the Cyclo - there is no substitute - to polish and maintain. Follow the process that is laid out on the Perfect Polish website and use Nuvite.

There's an art to it. An aircraft like the Luscombe or Swift can carry a near 100% polished surface with painted trim but the Cessnas are better with the opposite - mostly painted with polished trim. When you start polishing you'll understand that curved surfaces are far easier to polish than vast flat surfaces. The wings are the toughest part. Plan your design first, there are plenty of classic examples to either copy or base it on. Think how much effort would be required to maintain a polished belly or undersides of wings before committing to it.

What suprise to see BKn4thr's 180 in paint. This is the same paint scheme the my 1960 180 had when i bought it. it now has no paint and needs polishing agin. I have every thing I need to do the job but the energy!!! I have only seen that paint on my plane and one other in Tucson years ago!!