20 screaming polishers, 50 pounds of polish, 600+ man hours......

Here is a picture of early B17s (pre Dec 7, 1941)



Look pretty shiny to me.



B17B.jpg
 
:woohoo:Amazing!!! :bow You do fantastic work regardless of the scale! But the scale on this one was fantastic!! I am, forever, impressed!!!
 
reparebrise said:
When the planes left the factories they were bare aluminum, but not quite so polished. While in service many proud crews did polish there planes, while others were painted.

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Awesome job. Simply amazing!



As for painting combat aircraft during WW II, they all received paint jobs in the early to mid years of the war when the Japanese and Germans had air forces that could attack U.S. planes in the air or on the ground.



Thus, USAAF planes generally were green on top and sky blue/grey on the bottom. USN planes where generally blue on top and sky blue/grey on the bottom.



Towards the end of the war, the U.S. had such air dominance in both theatres that there was no real threat to there planes on the ground being attacked and in the air it was total superiority.



It was thus decided not to paint the planes, which speeded up production and actually added a little to their maximum air speed.
 
reparebrise said:
So yes they are polished better than they came from the factory, and with reason, as a well polished surface has less surface area presented to the air to cause oxidation.
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How does a polished surface have less surface area? If you're saying you levelled the surface to create less surface area, then the difference is not even measurable. Please clarify.



Also, and this is a bit tongue in cheek, but how do you convince your insurance company to insure you for a job like this?



I'm torn on this one. The plane looks FANTASTIC, but the well-worn appearance of the plane in the before shots really tells a story. You might have lost some of the historic context, particulary to a child that is trying to understand that this is a 60 year old plane.



Great work, though. You must still be sore!
 
Actually the surface area is much greater on oxidized paint, When I was working for a large abrasives manufacturer, a study they did on surface area of different materials showed that a such a surface could represent 4 X more.



As for the ravages of age, the plane still wears all the scratches and scars it has acquired over the years, they are now just brighter.



As for the insurance doing such a job is quite easy, we get special riders all the time for different projects(as an example at a recent auto show every person with a booth was required to carry 10 million in insurance(over protective convention center). It's just a matter of spelling out your needs to your insurance provider, and sign on the line (while handing over a check for sure).



Far from sore, and actively perusing a few different quotes to do even larger planes, it's not something that makes a whole lot of money, but from an entrepreneurs perspective the challenge is fun. My wife(who was instrumental in achieving the shine you see) likes to joke that after doing a plane, a car is a nice little diversion.
 
Great job, what a breathtaking project! I've worked on a few aircraft here in Portland, including a Malibu Piper and Cessna Citations.



That DC3 in the background is one of two, that one is in the process of being restored, while the other is absolutely gorgeous.



IMG_3069.jpg
 
Wow... that's a lot of polishing.





I just picked up a contract with sixty 53' aluminum construction trailers, that the company wants to look like mirrors. I'll feel your pain by the end of summer.
 
Fantastic job! Here I thought moving a car in and out of the garage would be a pain! Looks incredible, I applaud all those who worked on it, doesn't look easy on the back
 
OakesDetail said:
Fantastic job! Here I thought moving a car in and out of the garage would be a pain! Looks incredible, I applaud all those who worked on it, doesn't look easy on the back
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We paced ourselves and took plenty of breaks. I had a lot of water and energy drinks and a large stash of goodies chow down on during the breaks that recharged the batteries so to say.
 
Temperature was not a problem, blindness was. We started in the mornings on the top side, and when the sun got too hot we moved to the underside, or shaded side. Lots of water and good sunglasses were a must.
 
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