Cotton Waiex 191 - N191YX

[SonexN76ET]

Bryan,

May I suggest that you try a different buffing pad? Please watch the Sonex polishing videos. Kerry shows the correct buffing wheels to use. I have had the best luck with the 3M 05711 Wool Compounding Pad. You will need a backing plate as well. The 3M ones are expensive, but I found a backing plate at NAPA autoparts that fits the 3M pads perfectly.

You will find the polishing goes much easier with the proper buffing pads. Have fun polishing!

[Bryan Cotton]

Jake,
I've watched the videos. Also seen some other folks who used the cheap pads. I have been curious how the cheap pads compare to the expensive ones. Do they last the life of the plane? Do they require frequent washing? I have a collection of rags and pads for the laundromat someday but for now I have been buying new ones. The polishing has not been hard and has been coming out ok.

Thanks for the feedback!

[Rynoth]

Bryan, it's either your photography or your polishing job (or both), but the pics of your polish job look fantastic. That said, I'm using the Nuvite brand pads, and I'm usually done after about 3 passes of F9. But I've not gone all the way with C grade yet (just 1 pass on my fwd side panels).

I've washed 3 of my pads 1 time and reused them to good effect. So far I have 3 F9 pads, 1 C pad, and 1 to-be-used S pad. I expect those 5 pads will be more than enough for the life of my polish job.

In terms of polish, my F9 polishing is done save the 2 floor skins, and I've used just over 1lb of polish. 1.5lb should be plenty for all my initial F9 polishing.

All that said... the polish job in your photos looks better than mine! But you'll be here next week and can be the judge in person.

Edit: we may be using the term "pass" differently. When I say 3 passes, I mean I applied F9, and for any particular location it went through a 40-60 second cycle of buffing/drying out, 3 times. In terms of passing over the entire piece, (bit by bit) I've been doing it once per grade of nuvite.

[Bryan Cotton]

Thanks Ryan! It is mostly trick photography and special lighting. The only downside I see to the good pads is the washing. Do I spend an evening in the hangar or laundromat? For safety reasons I will not be using the home machine. My bachelor days are over. Unless I wash my polish stuff in the home machine anyway.

[Rynoth]

Thanks Ryan! It is mostly trick photography and special lighting. The only downside I see to the good pads is the washing. Do I spend an evening in the hangar or laundromat? For safety reasons I will not be using the home machine. My bachelor days are over. Unless I wash my polish stuff in the home machine anyway.

For the washing of the pads, I soaked them overnight in a tub with TSP, then rinsed them with a hose the next day. Yea, the rinsing was messy, with a lot of rinse, spin/dry, rinse, spin/dry cycles, out in the yard. All the sludge came out though, and never had to use a machine. Probably 0.5-1.0 hour to get the 3 pads rinsed and ready to dry.

[Bryan Cotton]

One thing that has been working for me - the initial spread of polish. I dab and smear a fingerful around an area, then blip the trigger (like a LeRhone rotary) to slowly spread it out evenly. Then I fire it up and polish it in - no mercy.


Done with F9 on the right hand skin.

[wlarson861]

I noticed in the picture that you are using the loose wool type of pad. The twisted type that looks kind of like a shag carpet will cut to the shine faster with the F9 and C grades. I bought replacements for my original NuVite kit from harbor freight for substantialy less than what NuVite wants for them. Also the c grade gets put on with a random orbital polisher. I have a $15.00 5 inch model from Menard's. I use a microfiber towel as the polish medium. The towels I buy at Sam's club and they are about a foot square. Each corner on both sides gets used giving 8 passes for each towel. My $0.02 worth.

[ScottM-Sonex1629]

Bryan:

I know everyone is trying to give you constructive criticism and tips to make your polish look better...

All I can say is it looks GREAT! I've been having a running conversation offline with Mike F about polishing vs. painting on my Sonex. What little polishing I have tried was tedious, time consuming, with little results to speak of.

Keep up the great work! I envy that you have done your polishing as you assemble. Mike strongly suggested I do this but the impatient side of me wants to get the airframe assemble in less than a year.

P.S. Nobody has asked so I will - the orange paint on the turtle deck formers? Is that your color scheme for the painted parts? Just curious...

[ScottM-Sonex1629]

Orange.

[Bryan Cotton]

Bill,
I will try one if those HF upgrade pads. I should be up that way in a couple weeks.
Scott, thanks and yes that is part of my color scheme. All the glass will be orange plus the instrument panel. Top of the glare shield will be flat black. I liked yellow too, but that has been done a lot on Sonexes. At Harris Hill they had three 2-33's. Yellow, blue, and orange. Always liked the orange one. My kids and I called it the great pumpkin. We had fancier glass, but nothing beats a 2-33 for taking kids in gliders. They sit upright and can sit in front at 60 lbs with ballast.

Somebody here (I forget who but feel free to speak up and take credit) posted the idea of trim color on turtledeck former #1. I liked the idea and stole it.

Anyway I like orange so that is where I am going.

I won't be done in a year but Adam and I have a new mantra :
"On the gear in a year!"