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Almost ready to give up on Polishing

704CH

Well Known Member
OK, the idea of Polishing is amazing and the parts that I have polished are turning out absolutely beautiful, but, I am really struggling with a few things... I'll try to keep my questions simple..

How do I keep the hangar Clean?

I am using the 3 part perfect polish recipe. Does anyone use something other than fleece wrap on the first round of F7 Cyclo? I seem to go through the fleece fast, and would rather have a cleaner option that wasn't a consumable. For example foam pads, or even cyclo wool pads? Any good recommendations?

For my first round including the compounding it looks like it will take about 100 hours. Does this seem about right? It is really slow going and seems you can't take shortcuts and to get the kind of finish I am hoping for.

More questions to come I am sure. I built a plane, fly that plane and maintain it.. I just hope I can polish it.. Seems a completely different set of skills.

I am finding that going to work with black hands and face is kind of embarrassing.

thx
 
Polishing

I am finding that going to work with black hands and face is kind of embarrassing.

thx

When I sit in the Monday morning meeting with stained hands, I can't help but wonder what all those other people did all weekend. You'll get used to it 😀
 
Expectation management

I've long ago given up on having the perfect polish job. It requires a level of commitment and dedication that I just don't possess. I have noted that most people that comment on my polish job think it looks fine. They are just not as critical as I am of my own work. A polished plane at any level just looks cool. Just don't park next to "that guy" with the show plane. :cool:
 
I've long ago given up on having the perfect polish job. It requires a level of commitment and dedication that I just don't possess. I have noted that most people that comment on my polish job think it looks fine. They are just not as critical as I am of my own work. A polished plane at any level just looks cool. Just don't park next to "that guy" with the show plane. :cool:

+++++++1

I can't agree enough. I think mine looks like ****, but I get compliments frequently.
 
The only way to have that show stopper perfectly polished airplane is to have enough money to employ at least 2 guys full time to keep it that way. :)
 
I am ready to throw the towel. Starting up piggy bank for paint.

What's the straw that broke the camel's back for you?

I'm looking at polishing but am perfectly willing to accept a "20 foot shine". I'm hoping for something akin to the look of new aluminum, not a mirror chrome appearance. Am I deluding myself? Our aircraft will be hangared and I'll likely continue putting sheets over the wings to keep the dust off...
 
I haven't given up *yet*, but i'm getting there. What's going to do it for me, is that i've got a lower back injury that doesn't let me spend more than about an hour at a time polishing. I can go through a fleece wrap in that time, but I'll pay for it for the next couple of days with soreness and reduced mobility.

I don't really like the rate that fleece wraps are consumed either... Washing them and re-using isn't an option for me, I don't have a spare washing machine or dryer and I suspect it would only double their life at best anyway.

There has to be an easier way... Oh, wait, there is... Paint! :)
 
The only way to have that show stopper perfectly polished airplane is to have enough money to employ at least 2 guys full time to keep it that way. :)

When I had my PT-22, I eventually hired a guy to come in quarterly to polish. It was worth the money and my time.
 
Has anyone tried foam pads and a DA polisher on their aluminum? I used such a system to polish a fabric airplane this year and it worked very well. The paint manufacturer recommended using a wool bonnet and a traditional rotary polisher, but I went the DA/foam pad route instead. At least you would eliminate the flying wool syndrome. You still need to maintain/wash the pads but I didn't find that a problem. The DA polisher weighs a lot less than my big Milwaukee rotary polisher and doesn't put the strain on the lower back.
I'd guess that if you are a purist and need that special show plane mirror finish, this won't work for you. But, if you are just trying to maintain what is to you an acceptable level of polish, it might be an alternative worth looking into.
 
DA

I use a DA sander with foam pad instead of cyclo. I also use cotton diapers for the last steps. I compound with wool (F7, C) then DA with cotton (C ans S). I launder both the wool and diapers at home. I'll wipe out the tub and wash them twice. After a couple of loads of regular laundry I can't tell that its ever been used for cleaning Nuvite. I have been practicing on the spinners at work. Some of them get pitted up pretty bad. Using cornstarch to get the last of the residue out of the pits helps a lot. I'm settling into whats perfect enough. Compounding by far takes the longest. Once that is done the first time, most of the rest is maintenance.
I am planning on painting bottom surfaces, and forward flying surface tops.
Side note...
I friend of mine paints his bush airplanes blue on top, white on bottom. If he goes "in" in the summer, he will flip upside down. White shows on green. In the winter he is in skis and expects to remain upright. Blue shows and seams to help with frost. He also paints half inch stripes on his prop and carries a hack saw....;)
 
I finally threw in the towel (fleece?)

I polished for about a year and a half ... Learned that even with power equipment it was way more work than I had figured. To keep it looking the way I wanted it, it was a spring and fall effort, though as time went on the "touch up" process got a teeny bit easier. When I got estimates from a painter I was still undecided on paint vs polish; I got quotes on both. To my initial amazement the paint/polish combo schem was only 9% less cost than a full, "no maintenance" paint job in four colors. That cinched the decision, since saving only 9% on the cost sentenced me to polishing the bird forever.
Why only 9% difference? I requested that the entire bottom side be painted bright silver to preclude the staining and corrosion so frequent there, and painting the cowl, fwd fuse, wheel pants, and gear fairings was the same amount of work either way. The masking necessary for either scheme was virtually the same.
I still LOVE the looks of a polished airplane, but simply was not willing to expend the time, energy, and sweat to keep it looking really nice, and up to my standard.
Oh yeah .... I'm REALLY happy with my painted bird .... No regrets at all.
 
Once you get a good shine switch to Kalifornia purple polish. It is as easy as waxing your plane. Rub it in lightly with your hand and cloth till it turns black, wait till it drys then buff off by hand with clean cloth. They even have a deoxidizer that works the same way. No heavy machine buffing needed. Talk to roger and say turbo told you to call. I will get rich by feeling good that you are now enjoying a polished product without suffering. :cool:
 
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i thought i would post a few pics of the polish on the helicycle blades. they were done about a year ago and looked quite dull. just like waxing you just apply with light pressure, let dry a wipe off. enjoy your shine.

as the label says, caution: results may be addictive!
 
Flitz

Anyone ever try Flitz? I've seen them at OSH a couple of times and the stuff seems to work really well but I've never used it or heard of anyone else using it.
 
Anyone ever try Flitz? I've seen them at OSH a couple of times and the stuff seems to work really well but I've never used it or heard of anyone else using it.

I've used Flitz on aging paint. The result was pretty easy to summarize... WOW! It's now about 8 years after that original buff job with Flitz and the paint still looks pretty good - maybe this summer she'll get another application of Flitz.

Yes, it takes some elbow grease, like anything that's removing a nasty old oxidized surface. The results are well worth the effort. VERY little Flitz compound is required to get the job done.
 
I took Turbos advice and decided to try out the purple metal polish. And oh my am I glad I did. My polished bird had been more and more grunchy and I just didn't have the heart to pull out the heavy, oddly shaped cyclo polisher to redo with Nuvite. After watching the video on the companies website it looked easy enough and without heavy machinery.

The grime and spots were affixed well to the skin. Meaning, I was unable to clean anymore with just a rag and my spray bottle of water/alcohol/soap. Sure I could have started up with nuvite again, but I just didn't have it in me.

Purple Metal Polish was super easy (I used their oxidizer too)... thanks for recommendation turbo.

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Turbo-

Thanks for the great recommendation! With a whole 5 minutes worth of elbow grease, this is what I was able to achieve with the Purple Metal Polish on my 5 year old bird that has been completely untouched:

Before:
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After:
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Like better than brand-new!

I'm on a slippery slope now ordering some Nuvite F7 and C compound to help buff out some slight surface corrosion. The warning label is 100% correct on the bottle - "Results May Be Addicting!".
 
mike, kalifornia customs has a deoxidizer too. :D it works just as easy as the purple stuff. easy on easy off. no need to buff with heavy equipment. you will be very happy with that. :cool: turbo out.
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QUESTION

If I use the California Custom polish, will that somehow prevent me from going back later with a more traditional system like Flitz or Nuvite?
 
Can anyone confirm that this California Purple Polish will not significantly interefere with painting later?

Hmmm good question and I'm glad you asked it. I have sitting here on my desk a bottle of the California Custom deoxidizer and polish. While I doubt I will ever paint, I do want to ensure these products don't cause future problems. Kinda like using a pencil to mark lines on aluminum - looks great when you do it, then a few years later... Uh oh! That's the last thing I want to have happen.

Does anybody know what's in these products and what potential down-sides there may be to their use?
 
that is one darn good question. i would give roger a call at the company and see what he says and then report back here. shine or paint, that is the question. :)

nice to see some easy and nice results. this stuff really works.

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I realize this is an old thread, but I'm pretty good at this polishing stuff and just a couple of thoughts.

First, You keep the hangar clean by buying some of those cheap tarps at Harbor Freight. You keep your hands clean by wearing vinyl gloves, which you should be wearing anyway to keep the oils on your hands (and the scratches on your skin) from dinging up your polish job.

The bigger and more important subtext here is the search for the perfect polish job.

You get it once. Once. The first time you polish your plane.

Although you will get better at polishing, you will never be more impressed than the first time. It's like driving your first kid home from the hospital. You'll never drive that carefully again.

Once you start polishing, you're ALWAYS going to notice the imperfections in polishing. You simply have to get used to it because the people coming up to you drooling are not noticing those; they're back at seeing the "first time" thing.

Just as there's only one reason to BUILD an airplane (you want to BUILD an airplane), there's only one reason to POLISH an airplane: you want to polish an airplane.

I tell everyone who says, "boy, that's a lot of work," that "it's cheaper than therapy." They think I'm kidding; I'm not.

There's a loveliness about polishing that isn't for everyone. You're seeing every inch of your airframe. You get to know it intimately; you begin to be one with it. Like I said, it's not for everyone, particularly people who don't care if the chicks dig the polish or not. The fools. Chicks dig the polish, man.

BTW, I used the purple polish as part of a complete polishing diet. I like it. I would never use it on the whole plane. As good a job as it does, it will always look better out of the sunlight. So will your compounding job, but it will look better IN the sunlight than the purple polish.

I would NEVER use the purple polish without first using the "green juice" -- the oxidation remover. Don't ask me why; it just looks better.

It won't screw up future painting, assuming you're going to use a reputable paint shop that prepares the skin appropriately. The biggest threat to future painting, is future preparation.

One final tip: If you don't know whether to paint or polish after doing some polishing, you need to write a big check to the paint shop.

And if you want a polished airplane and don't want to polish, write me a big check instead.
 
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Can anyone confirm that this California Purple Polish will not significantly interefere with painting later?

The reason I resurrected this thread was not because I want a polished plane. I want a clean, relatively shiny plane without substantial work and, more importantly, without any silicone or similar residue that will mess with the painting that always seems to be "just around the corner." (Having too much fun flying!) It sounds like no one so far has any idea if it will make painting more complex/time-consuming/difficult/expensive later. As turbo suggested, perhaps calling California Custom might be the best solution.
 
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