Well, I have a polished Ercoupe (http://ercoupe.com) and my advice would be to paint it. The painted parts of my airplane take a occasional wash and wax two or three times a year and still look good five years after I painted them.
Even hangared the polished metal lasts less than a few months before it needs to be polished. Last Spring I hired a teenager to help me polish. We spent approx. 25 hours together and it needs it again. Outside in New England a polished airplane lasts until the next (acid) rain. If you must polish, I strongly recommend Nuvite Corporation Polish. 800-394-8351 I have tried a lot of products and I have had the best luck with their polish. If the surface is very bad, 3M makes a micropolishing paper in multiple grades that you use with 3in1 oil as a lubricant and a hand orbital sander to prep the surface. It is very hard to buy small quantities. I purchased from Dave at PSI Testing ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) 281-492-8378. I bought the 5inch PSA disks in 15, 9, 3, and 2 micron grades. 3M Part number 481Q (15 micron) and 281Q (other grades) It is a LOT of work. After you use the polishing paper you still have to use the normal polish. I do not think I would buy another polished airplane without lots of desperate teenagers available and a large supply of cash. David Abrams [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://ercoupe.com -----Original Message----- From: Pasanen Juha [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Tuesday, March 09, 1999 8:23 AM To: '[EMAIL PROTECTED]' Subject: aluminium skin surfaces A friend of mine is willing to leave his to become airplane skin unpainted. Is that reasonable? How are skins protected and polished with what? What would you recommend? Thank you! Juha Pasanen [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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