Unpolishing

[Bryan Cotton]

Looks great Steve!

[OtterlyFoolish]

Looks great!

Can I ask what you did to remove the polish and prep for paint? I just purchased a Waiex B kit that had been started and a few parts were already polished. I know that I will not maintain that polish it on a regular basis so I want to paint the entire plane. I was considering replacing the skins on the polished parts but if I can be sure the paint will adhere to the unpolished aluminum that might be a whole lot easier.

Thank you,
Marc

[Bryan Cotton]

Scotch brite would make short work of the polished parts, and prep them for paint. No sense in replacing the polished parts.

[OtterlyFoolish]

Scotch brite would make short work of the polished parts, and prep them for paint. No sense in replacing the polished parts.

Thank you for the quick response. So just scotchbrite, wipe with a paint thinner and then prime and paint?

[sonex892.]

Hi Marc
I used scotchbright pads and heavily concentrated soapy water followed by alumiprep and alodine. Paint and primer were both automotive 2 pack.

The alumiprep and Alodine were probably overkill. At a bare minimum I would scotchbright with the soapy water, rinse, dry, then shoot primer asap.

Steve
Sonex 892

[DCASonex]

Having a polished Sonex, you might want to think twice about eliminating that polish. Have had mine flying since 2012, and have only polished it once in last two years, and only spent a day doing so. However, it is kept in a hangar, and I cover it with cheap picnic table cloths (the kind with a soft back side) to keep dust off. Polish vs paint can save you between 10 and 15 pounds, which can become significant if carrying any load, doing aerobatics, or just adding features

If you do decide to polish, doing the first two stages with Nuvite, is best done with material in the flat before it becomes part of the plane. Flat sheets can be laid on a table and a fair amount of force applied which greatly speeds up the process. Nuvite warns against applying too much pressure, but that seems to be mostly in reference to parts of a finished plane. If you apply high pressure to a wing skin, you will end up seeing the outline of the ribs permanently pressed into the skins. That cannot happen when working on flat sheets. Keeping it polished, with the third stage Nuvite polish does not require any great pressure.

I did cheat on mine and made what i call the lazy-man's polish. The underside of the wings and all parts of moving flight surfaces are painted as they are a pain to polish. The exposed parts are easy to maintain.

David A.

[OtterlyFoolish]

Considering that I will not be able to find a local hanger I really feel like painting is the best scenario at this point. It gives an extra layer of protection to the metal and I do not have to find a way to polish it in a hot field and worry about the other planes around me. I love the look of the polished planes but I would rather be flying it than polishing it.

[GraemeSmith]

Constructively - I can tell you that once you gain a bit more experience - on a hot summer day, taking off uphill (common) at Great Barrington, and with the rising terrain to the SW. You want as light a plane as possible. I keep mine outside unpainted, Mike Smith kept his outside for four (?) years. It's not going to look like a mirror - but you can keep it acceptable - and save the all important weight.

My 2c

YMMV

[OtterlyFoolish]

You have a point there. I can tell a difference when taking off on 29 in the afternoon compared to the morning already. I see a number of people doing partial paint so maybe I will consider that as well as just polishing it once and dealing with the finish in the future when it arrives. Would a good wax help maintain/protect the polish?