Any polished Mooneys out there?

[Wildhorsesracing]

Wowza.  Looks great.  How many hours?

I have lost track - but I manage to get out there at least 4 hrs a week since May 1 - so roughly 80 hrs so far.

[MyNameIsNobody]

I have lost track - but I manage to get out there at least 4 hrs a week since May 1 - so roughly 80 hrs so far.

Beautiful.  I would love to look up and see that shimmering aluminum flashing accross the sunny sky!  

[63C]

One thing I have learned from polished Swifts is that the sun can really reflect off the top of the wing right back at you while flying...but it is still worth it!

The Mooney will be gorgeous!

[Marauder]

One thing I have learned from polished Swifts is that the sun can really reflect off the top of the wing right back at you while flying...but it is still worth it!

The Mooney will be gorgeous!

Sort of like my head... Man do I miss my hair....

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[Wildhorsesracing]

The flying surfaces are balanced so now it's time to start thinking about N Number paint schemes...

[StinkBug]

 

It's bare metal, but I'm not sure I'd call it polished.

I saw that plane over on Catalina a few months ago, and I would agree it could use a few dozen more hours of polishing. It also didn't seem to have much of any interior in it at the time.

[StinkBug]

Man that thing really shines. I have to agree with the other poster that said an accent stripe would really set it off though. Something simple and classic. Would also help keep the N number from looking so alone on the plane as well.

[Marauder]

Man that thing really shines. I have to agree with the other poster that said an accent stripe would really set it off though. Something simple and classic. Would also help keep the N number from looking so alone on the plane as well.

Is that N photoshopped on?

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[Wildhorsesracing]

Is that N photoshopped on?

Yes - but I used a program called GIMP

Man that thing really shines. I have to agree with the other poster that said an accent stripe would really set it off though. Something simple and classic. Would also help keep the N number from looking so alone on the plane as well.

Thinking about that as well - also leaning towards some nose art...

 

[DrBill]

i wonder if clearcoat would reduce the upkeep on it?

Bill

 

[DrBill]

This one would be more appropriate

[WardHolbrook]

A friend of mine had a polished T-28. He offered to let me fly the plane if I would help him keep it shiny. I've loved flying the T-28, but it was way too much work to keep it looking good. Nothing looks better than a polished classic airplane (Think Spartan 7W Executive) but nothing looks worse than a polished airplane that needs polishing. That T-28 attracted a lot of attention where ever it went and the people who saw it wanted to touch it. Which explains why he was willing to make the deal he did with me. That T-28 was one honking big single engine airplane and it took hours of work to clean up after that big radial engine and all of the finger and palm prints that magically seemed to appear every time we rolled it out of the hangar. Between the two of us, he definitely got the better deal. Polished airplanes are like women - they're sure pretty, but it takes an awful of of time and money to keep them that way. I'd much rather spend my time flying than polishing. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. 

[DaV8or]

I have never seen a polished T-28 and couldn't even imagine what that looked like. I turned to Google for help. They seem to be incredibly rare and not popular with photographers. My Google search turned up only two small pictures of this one in Australia.

[WardHolbrook]

I have never seen a polished T-28 and couldn't even imagine what that looked like. I turned to Google for help. They seem to be incredibly rare and not popular with photographers. My Google search turned up only two small pictures of this one in Australia.

Yes sir, that's pretty much what it looked like and believe me, there is a good reason why they're incredibly rare and not popular and it all has to do with the upkeep that a polished airplane requires. 

[WardHolbrook]

Here's a photo of a T-28 that looked pretty much identical to the one I flew. (It may even be the same one.)

[Wildhorsesracing]

Finished polishing a wing yesterday, found out that it's going to be hard to do a pre-flight check when the sun is out...

[WardHolbrook]

Finished polishing a wing yesterday, found out that it's going to be hard to do a pre-flight check when the sun is out...

 

What are you using as polish? Back in the day we used Flitz. It worked quite well, but that was quite a while ago. Nowadays, there's probably much better polish available.

[Hank]

 Back in the day we used Flitz. It worked quite well, but that was quite a while ago. Nowadays, there's probably much better polish available.

I recommend thus stuff. Works great! Easy to use, but you'll need lots of microfiber wipes to buff it out.

[carusoam]

Jim's work is a true reflection of his physical being.

I can see the similarities in Hank's work too.

I'm going to need a bottle of the purple to remove some haze of my spinner.

I get a sense that the T-28 pilot has a strong reason for the black matte finish on top of the cowling....something to consider...

best regards,

-a-

 

[bonal]

A dark blue on the top of the cowl would be good for avoiding sun blindness and some semi transparent light to medium blue accent stripes that would blend with the reflection of the sky IMHO 

[WardHolbrook]

A dark blue on the top of the cowl would be good for avoiding sun blindness and some semi transparent light to medium blue accent stripes that would blend with the reflection of the sky IMHO 

Oh yeah, the reflection off the top of the cowl would be dangerous, same thing for the backside of the prop. Of course that's why they're painted black. The back paint from the cowling back along the sides of the fuselage was for the exhaust stains. Any way you cut it, a polished airplane is a labor of love. Me, I've learned that lesson. I'd much rather spend my time and money (time=money) flying. That Mooney when finished will be a beauty though. 

[HRM]

I don't know, just looks a bit freakish to me.

I think the problem is that it has too many segments, which means seams and rivets. This is just the way a Mooney is made. Possibly a stripe or something could offset it.

The upside is that if you have it painted it will be spectacular now that it is down to the bare metal.

[Wildhorsesracing]

Playing with paint ideas...

[rocketman]

Wonder how much the factory would discount a new Mooney unpainted?

[Shadrach]

I don't know, just looks a bit freakish to me.

I think the problem is that it has too many segments, which means seams and rivets. This is just the way a Mooney is made. Possibly a stripe or something could offset it.

The upside is that if you have it painted it will be spectacular now that it is down to the bare metal.

It's not the segments, it's the swirl marks. It looks a tad busy because in the areas where it should be mirror finished there are signs of aggressive polishing. It will never look quite right until the swirl marks are gone. All of the hard work appears to have been done. It needs a thorough and consistent final buff.

Edited September 22, 2015 by Shadrach