How to Paint Strip and Polish an Airplane (on an Average Budget)

Рет қаралды 15,151

Күн бұрын

Let's face it, my airplane looks terrible compared to most out there. However; there are specific reasons for this: airplanes are expensive and I like flying more than I like sitting on the ground and looking at my airplane... That doesn't mean I'm not consistently trying to improve, though, as the paint was way worse when I first bought it. In this episode, I'm just an average guy using less expensive ways to strip the paint off and polish my aluminum airplane.
I have no endorsements or company affiliations but here are the products I am using:
Paint Stripper: www.aircraftspruce.com/catalo...
Aircraft Aluminum Polish: brightworkpolish.com/about-us/
Music: Over You by Atch
SoundCloud: bit.ly/AtchSoundCloud
Spotify: bit.ly/AtchSpotify
Instagram: / atchmusic

Пікірлер: 45

@grantlarmstrong 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks for taking the time to record this. I am sure that many of us are at least considering something like this. It helps to see others experience.

@kevincrocker8206 3 жыл бұрын

Love the polished look

@roddraym 3 жыл бұрын

Great effort and truly appreciate your candidness throughout! Hopefully your annual went very well and you're enjoying that beautiful Mooney. Cheers!

@dalewalt11 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for the video I've used both Brightworks and Nuvite; there's really very little difference between the two. I'm in the finishing stages of polishing my plane (it's a homebuilt; the original builder polished the tops of the wings, but not the underside) Lotta work, but it'll be worth it in the end. Another note: when polishing, I found that the best way was to use a very low rpm (600rpm) to initially spread the polish around without flinging it everywhere. Then increase speed to a max of 1400 to get a good shine (higher rpm only if you need to get rid of a lot of oxidation)

@chriscusick6890 16 күн бұрын

Your aircraft looks great even to begin with!

@fillywinks 3 жыл бұрын

Great video, keep it up!

@markgunnison 3 жыл бұрын

Before getting my M20B I had a polished Cessna 170A. I had it polished to a mirror finish after many, many years of polishing by me and the prior owner. I really enjoy polishing. My Mooney has great paint so I have no plans on stripping it. Great job!

@REDMAN298 3 жыл бұрын

There was a c 140 at a grass strip and the owner polished it once a year. He would not wash it. It`s a lot of work to polish one. Then you see all the flaws too. They look good from 20 feet away. I remember a General`s DC 3 flew in to Camp Pendleton once and it was polished. Impressive.

@markgunnison 3 жыл бұрын

@@REDMAN298 Here is a quick video when I traded my 170 for a Mooney. At the end of the video you can see how polished my 170 was. kzfaq.info/get/bejne/gZuomLuhr9jenn0.html

@kendemers8821 2 жыл бұрын

Great video, thanks for this information. Good luck to you. It's nice to see a young man getting into aviation and aircraft ownership.

@paratyshow 3 жыл бұрын

Nice, tks for sharing all your hard earned experience.

@Stormcloakvictory 2 жыл бұрын

Really love the bare aluminium/polished look on airplanes. I find there's only few video's of them on KZfaq or I'm searching wrong. Anyway, hehe you have the best looking Mooney on KZfaq imo

@ryliepoopalotagus6486 Жыл бұрын

I realize it has been a year, but you can soak your wool pads in soapy water to clean them they don't have to be dry to use them. Buffing with a dirty wool pad will just grind the black residue staining the aluminum. As for getting the striper to adhere to the vertical surfaces. Apply it with a wide bristle paint brush and cover it with plastic wrap.

@billsmopars4927 3 жыл бұрын

40 some years ago they stripped and polished a Navion at our club. Came out great. The polishing compound was flour, regular flour.

@AverageAviator 3 жыл бұрын

Interesting, I've never heard of that. Just flour straight or mixed with water or something?

@billsmopars4927 3 жыл бұрын

@@AverageAviator As I recall it was straight flour, I remember it was sort of a messy affair with the plane outlined more or less on the ground as they worked. I imagine the flour works as a fine compound. BTW, this was done by hand, no power buffing, down in the Panama Canal Zone.

@Alexgarcia-vd6zt 3 жыл бұрын

I like the video bro im working on one I get good ideas from you thank you

@mrmutra569 Жыл бұрын

Thanks for sharing

@navion1946 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks for sharing. I’ve started in on my Navion. It’s going to be a long project

@AverageAviator 3 жыл бұрын

Awesome! Hopefully one day it will be flying and I might see it!

@NC0Q 3 жыл бұрын

Sweet video, thanks for going to the trouble! Praying for no squawks from the annual. Are you doing the inspection yourself?

@AverageAviator 3 жыл бұрын

No problem, it was fun to make. The annual is finished now and no major repairs thankfully!

@DWBurns 2 жыл бұрын

I like the polished metal.

@ZiggyTheHamster 3 жыл бұрын

Have you considered a thick paste wax on top of the polished panels? “Natural” color woodworking paste wax would be a good candidate because it’s quite hard and nearly transparent, then once you’ve got that buffed in, hit it with some synthetic liquid wax to make it ultra smooth. Maybe there’s a reason not to wax airplane skins (temperature differences causing it to flake off?), though.

@kerrylloyd4215 Жыл бұрын

Let me share this with you. When you put on strippers you should use a small brush, let it sit and then hit it with your brass brush. 👍

@flyerjack1548 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks for the polishing and stripping lessons. Look forward to seeing more. What state are. You based in?

@AverageAviator 3 жыл бұрын

I am currently based at Butler Farm Show Airport in Western PA, just north of Pittsburgh.

@LTVoyager 2 жыл бұрын

Prices have went up a lot. I just checked the link to the stripper at Aircraft Spruce and it is now $53/gallon which is quite an increase from the $30 you mentioned just 18 months ago. Wow.

@av8tore71 3 жыл бұрын

Yeah the old Aircraft Stripper worked awesome, I still have maybe 6 gal of the old stuff from back when I went through A&P school in my home town (KRFD) What color are you planning on painting your plane?

@user-ek7sb9pl7h 3 жыл бұрын

Just come across this, but if you intend to retain the alloy finish have a look at WadPol. It was used by the military for years on non painted planes. Wear gloves and echoing other comments be careful when using electric polishers. The allow can get hot very quickly. Keeping it looking nice will be a bit of a crusade though. Oh, and read the instructions before opening the tin. Ask me how I know.

@AverageAviator 3 жыл бұрын

The trick with electric polishers on higher speed is to not use as much pressure. Light pressure is often all that's needed.

@LTVoyager 2 жыл бұрын

I would think a paint brush would apply it much better and thicker. As long as you get bristle material that the stripper won’t eat also.

@jeromes5141 3 жыл бұрын

Nice to you go a hangar. Been watching your videos for 2 yrs now. I just got a nice M20C 9/20. It has a Sandel HSI, Garmin 530, autopilot, and even speed brakes. I can't afford a hangar which are about $500 my side (KSCH) so I got a cover the starts from the prop all the way to the end of the back of the wing. Seeing this video I think I might just get some wing covers.

@AverageAviator 3 жыл бұрын

Dang that's expensive! My hangar is 150 a month and is fairly nice. I only acquired it for the winter though, so I'll have to find another once spring comes or I'm back outside. Wing covers would definitely help in the winter up in NY, I used to fly into NY0 Fulton a lot.

@aricksoltmans6674 2 жыл бұрын

Could you sand the paint off? Or is that not an option?

@johnwebber8392 2 жыл бұрын

Bro do you not clear coat it after so it doesn't carode

@MeatGunz 4 ай бұрын

PTI-PRG High strength paint remover m32684

@azrusseks 3 жыл бұрын

Where are you located? Is a humid climate conducive for a bare metal plane? I have a few questions are you available for a phone call?

@thebigbilltheory4388 3 жыл бұрын

Curious about how many gallons you went through? Thanks for the info

@AverageAviator 3 жыл бұрын

This is a hard number to calculate as it was a learning process and I went through a number of different products and a varying amount of those products based on how they actually performed stripping the paint. I would estimate that it would take me about 3 gallons of the stripper I used in the video had I used it to strip the plane from the very beginning. Since I did not strip the entire plane, I would estimate that I would need about 5 gallons to strip the entire plane start to finish.

@thebigbilltheory4388 3 жыл бұрын

@@AverageAviator thanks for the answers.

@Propwashpirate 3 жыл бұрын

Looks like you’ve got it figured out pretty good, but when using an electric polisher like that careful to use low rpm’s because high rpm’s generate heat and too much heat will warp the aluminum skin. Looks like you’ve done a good job 👍🏻

@throughmyeyes9940 3 жыл бұрын

wear gloves and breathing protection man!

@AverageAviator 3 жыл бұрын

A valid point. But the hangar door was open with wind so it was well ventilated, and It's hard to talk through a mask. But point well taken, gloves would have definitely been a good idea.