How much polish does it take to do a WWII bomber?

Or... why we REALLY don't like to polish aluminum... Gary

http://www.autopia.org/forum/pro-de...polishers-50-pounds-polish-600-man-hours.html

 

HOLY CRAP! Man, what an honor. BUt my back and arms and shoulders hurt just thinking about it.

 

seems they coulda talked car crazy Mc Guire dude to take that on as a product test.

 

Beautiful plane made even more georgeous.
Love the B-17

 

Thats sweet!

 

thats a hard days work.
looks amazing.

 

Imagine how long that would take by hand! It would be an eternity until you would be done. B-17s are some of my favorite bombers. Very cool airplanes.

 

Exactly. It looks amazing.

 

we did a lot of polishing on our planes when i was in the airforce.we used a product called met-all. could only get it through govt supply chain. i spent hours polishing a fleet of planes....may be the reason i never re-enlisted.

 

WOW-you did the old bird up right. Looks great. At least it wasn't a B-29.

 

I have seen several like this one buffed out to chrome looking but never realized the amount of man hours and polish required to do the job. I got tired just looking at the pictures of the work being performed.

 

Wow, is that sweet or what?
Yankee Lady flew over a couple minutes ago, as usual I ran out to see her... she's looking like she needs a bath.
Whos with me...?!!?

Jay

 

That is quite a job,looks good but far from a factory finish. only a hand full of those aircraft were ever polished,mostly VIP hacks and special show aircraft. almost all others went to war with paint or plain alum. finish.

Jack

 

I feel your pain! LOL. I used to paint 747's for Pan Am, BUT MAN! thats a butt load more work polishing that 'ol bird out .........
"Look Out! FW's at 11 o'clock!"
FRITZ

 

Fact!! Only they did look a lot better than when they were flown for a few hundred missions which is the way most of us remember them. Exposed Aluminum oxidizes you can't get around it.

Frank

 

If this is the plane I'm thinking of, it's at John Wayne Airport, Orange County. Is this the same one?? I was in Costa Mesa having breakfast and it took off and banked right over me! BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!!



WOW!!!

 

Years ago, my dad had a Beech 18...a cabin class twin sorta like a corporate jet in it's day. Anyway, it was polished aluminum. Like chrome. My dad's full time mechanic was a nasty Scotsman. Whenever we landed somewhere, people had to come out and see it. Some people just had to touch. When they did, Scotty would go crazy. Hands leave ugly blotches that turn ugly colors. One day, a guy walked up, accompanied by a very busty lady. When he ran his hand over the fuselage, Scotty grapped her boob. A lot of screaming, but Scotty won. "See, no marks on her tit. But wait a while and watch what your friggin hand did"!! The guy slinked off into the sunset. His female partner rubbing her tit. He did squeeze a bit more than he had to.
Had to love the old bastard!!

 

Looks great man. Very cool.

 

Very cool!

 

I think I would have just killed myself after day 2...

 

Polishing a combat aircraft is akin to painting a big bulls eye on your butt. One wing flash and the world is on you in a big way. Dull is the safe way to go to war. Gary

 

That is something you can tell your grandchildren about - looking at the work brings a tear to my eye. Thanks for preserving what made America strong!!!

I had the pleasure of going thru a 17 last fall at St Augustine airport and was amazed of how tight the space was (I got stuck in the bomb bay catwalk)

 

I know EXACTLY how much really hard work that takes... And, I did it without any helpers...

 

Real nice job! If you ever get the chance go up for a B-17 flight when one is at a local airport. Not a cheap flight, but well worth experiencing what so many 18-30 year olds did in WWII.

 

If that plane was left mostly indoors, how long would it take til it needed a new polish?

 

I heard Foose did the wheels with that nifty Mothers power ball thing.

 

I saw a polished 747 at Boeing Field once....but I guess if you're Boeing.....

 

As a Ypsilanti worker, I'M in!! I love looking out my office window and seeing the Lady taking off from the Home of all B-17s, Willow Run!