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)
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!
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.
@@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. ua-cam.com/video/K5xeXpJrznI/v-deo.html
Really love the bare aluminium/polished look on airplanes. I find there's only few video's of them on UA-cam or I'm searching wrong. Anyway, hehe you have the best looking Mooney on UA-cam imo
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.
@@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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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 👍🏻
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.
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.
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.
Love the polished look
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)
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!
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.
@@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. ua-cam.com/video/K5xeXpJrznI/v-deo.html
Really love the bare aluminium/polished look on airplanes.
I find there's only few video's of them on UA-cam or I'm searching wrong.
Anyway, hehe you have the best looking Mooney on UA-cam imo
Great effort and truly appreciate your candidness throughout! Hopefully your annual went very well and you're enjoying that beautiful Mooney. Cheers!
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.
40 some years ago they stripped and polished a Navion at our club. Came out great. The polishing compound was flour, regular flour.
Interesting, I've never heard of that. Just flour straight or mixed with water or something?
@@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.
Thanks for sharing. I’ve started in on my Navion. It’s going to be a long project
Awesome! Hopefully one day it will be flying and I might see it!
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.
PTI-PRG High strength paint remover m32684
Nice, tks for sharing all your hard earned experience.
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.
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.
The trick with electric polishers on higher speed is to not use as much pressure. Light pressure is often all that's needed.
Great video, thanks for this information. Good luck to you. It's nice to see a young man getting into aviation and aircraft ownership.
Your aircraft looks great even to begin with!
Great video, keep it up!
I like the polished metal.
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. 👍
Thanks for the polishing and stripping lessons. Look forward to seeing more.
What state are. You based in?
I am currently based at Butler Farm Show Airport in Western PA, just north of Pittsburgh.
Sweet video, thanks for going to the trouble! Praying for no squawks from the annual. Are you doing the inspection yourself?
No problem, it was fun to make. The annual is finished now and no major repairs thankfully!
I like the video bro im working on one I get good ideas from you thank you
Thanks for sharing
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.
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.
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.
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?
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 👍🏻
Bro do you not clear coat it after so it doesn't carode
Could you sand the paint off? Or is that not an option?
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?
Curious about how many gallons you went through? Thanks for the info
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.
@@AverageAviator thanks for the answers.
wear gloves and breathing protection man!
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.