Plane for sale; Pride of ownership - or lack thereof.

Beauty is only skin deep kind of thing?

That's just something that ugly people say. :lol:
The way I heard it was "Beauty may be only skin deep; but ugly goes clear to the bone".
 
Non-sequitur. The airplane is still pretty underneath the dirt. ;)
I glad you added the ;) so I assume you knew I was trying to be humorous.

I wash ours roughly annually and vaccuum it out. We wipe off bugs almost every flight but one can let that slide when the weather or lateness of the hour says common sense would be to stop by later at the hangar and enjoy some time puttering with the airplane.

Not spotless always, but not trashed.

The point was, why rationalize your $3500? Just say you like keeping the bird clean. The guy down the hangar row can have his looking like yours in a single day for $350. ;)

(And anyone who won't even bother to clean theirs up to sell it, isn't really interested in selling. I fully agree.)

I enjoy cleaning the airplane. Mostly because it means I either truly have a full day off with nothing on the schedule, or I finally said "screw it" in regards to same schedule and I'm playing mental health hookey. LOL
We do pretty much have the same procedure then. I just don't really want to take the time to do a full detail when I can pay someone to do it once a year and do it better than I could.

You also have to remember that I live in Florida and my home-drome is about a mile from the ocean. If I don't keep a good coat of wax on it and keep it polished, after a few years I would be polishing through the corrosion and through the bare metal. That is why I also have my A&P run an anti corrosion treatment through it frequently.

And I have an added incentive. My wife is very (extremely) tolerant of me taking a few minutes after (most) flights to touch up the leading edges and plexiglas. That is also usually a good time to take advantage of the contents of the hangar fridge contents.
 
Must. Avoid. Obvious. Joke. Here. ;)

Nice job. I do not think I would ever entertain owning bare aluminum because I would have to make it look like that. ;)


That too. :D

Polished planes are definitely not for the pigpen type, or a very busy person who cannot put some time and effort into it. One thing about them though is they get easier to shine up with each job. :)

I like to think I'm preserving days gone by. Our grandfather owned a completely polished DC-3 back in the fifties. I wish I had a picture of it.
 
I had a polished Bo for a while. I only went part way though. From the spar back under the wings was painted, and the belly was painted. Not interested in polishing upside down.

Got a lot of nice comments on it. Where it really got bad was at airshows. The worst offenders seemed to be aviation folk. I was amazed at the number of times a pilot, or line worker would come up and put their hands on it. After a half dozen times, I made a little sign that said "Touch polished Aluminum plane - only $20, pay in advance."
 
I was amazed at the number of times a pilot, or line worker would come up and put their hands on it. After a half dozen times, I made a little sign that said "Touch polished Aluminum plane - only $20, pay in advance."
It gets worse when you return to your aircraft to find a 12 year old young lady standing on your polished wheel pant.
I never got the scratches out.
 
I had a polished Bo for a while. I only went part way though. From the spar back under the wings was painted, and the belly was painted. Not interested in polishing upside down.

Got a lot of nice comments on it. Where it really got bad was at airshows. The worst offenders seemed to be aviation folk. I was amazed at the number of times a pilot, or line worker would come up and put their hands on it. After a half dozen times, I made a little sign that said "Touch polished Aluminum plane - only $20, pay in advance."


Same here. I had the underside of the wings, stabilizer, and belly painted a sky grey/silver that you can't tell it from a distance.

Those areas are man-killers to polish, and they don't stay polished for very long with the condensation we get down here.

Air shows will also show you how little you know about polishing when you park alongside a bird that's been mirror finished. I can only guess they get them to that level with countless hours and professional equipment. :redface:
 
Takes all kinds.
I do clean the leading edges, prop, and glass after a flight - especially with bugs/mud. Much easier to keep it up than to spend hours trying to catch it up - and only takes minutes
Paint has seen better days beginning about a generation ago (shrug)
The interior is a joke. Worn, off color upholstery (no holes) (double shrug)

But I am fanatical about the things that make it fly, such as those noisy jigamabobs hanging on the wings, and those rubber donuts underneath, and the brake thingies. etc. It is ready and able to go coast to coast on a minutes notice.
Top the tanks, spit and clap, and go.
 
It gets worse when you return to your aircraft to find a 12 year old young lady standing on your polished wheel pant.

I never got the scratches out.


Hey Tom,

Is the plane in your avatar polished?

Hard to tell with the small photo, but it looks like the front part of the cowl is painted but some shiny stuff afterwards.


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You also have to remember that I live in Florida and my home-drome is about a mile from the ocean. If I don't keep a good coat of wax on it and keep it polished, after a few years I would be polishing through the corrosion and through the bare metal. That is why I also have my A&P run an anti corrosion treatment through it frequently.

I always forget that the rest of the world has to deal with humidity and corrosion. :)
 
Are we actually having a discussion about keeping our plane clean.... Bottom line TAKE PRIDE IN ONWERSHIP!!! Especially you want to sell it... The most irritating thing as a realtor when I take a buyer to a home just to find that no one took the time to clean the kitchen or make the bed or dust.... Take pride in ownership!!!
 
Are we actually having a discussion about keeping our plane clean.... Bottom line TAKE PRIDE IN ONWERSHIP!!! Especially you want to sell it... The most irritating thing as a realtor when I take a buyer to a home just to find that no one took the time to clean the kitchen or make the bed or dust.... Take pride in ownership!!!

But don't become emotionally involved with an inanimate object.

And don't let pride in ownership let pride become your owner.

Top line, know why you purchased an inanimate object.
 
Karma.

Or is it dogma? I confuse the two.
 
Another saturday, another dirty plane. It's like an epidemic. Of course, I'm shopping downmarket as I usually do but there's really no reason the plane can't be washed, pump up the struts, put the battery in, and wipe down the interior. Jeeeeezzzz...
 
Did you meet your future spouse/partner in dirty sweats, un-showered, and a week after you lost your toothbrush?
sort of. I met her when we were playing in a sand volleyball tournament on a rainly day. I also first saw my first plane after it had been landed on a muddy dirt road next to a fishing stream.
 
If you go to sun and fun or Oshkosh you don't see many aircraft that are not taken good care of, polished, in nice shape. It's obvious that they were not just done for the show but had always been cared for this way. Being hangared is a big part of this. It's common sense to keep something as expensive as a nice aircraft, house or car in nice condition. I always have sold my airplanes for what I paid for them or more by keeping them polished and hangared plus in very good mechanical shape.
 
Another saturday, another dirty plane. It's like an epidemic. Of course, I'm shopping downmarket as I usually do but there's really no reason the plane can't be washed, pump up the struts, put the battery in, and wipe down the interior. Jeeeeezzzz...


When people give up this all-consuming hobby, I've noticed at least some percentage just totally check out. They don't go near their stuff for fear they'll get sucked back in or something. Others hang on until they're too old to even wash the thing.

Just saying I've seen those. And they could be some of the airplanes you're looking at.
 
When people give up this all-consuming hobby, I've noticed at least some percentage just totally check out. They don't go near their stuff for fear they'll get sucked back in or something. Others hang on until they're too old to even wash the thing.

Just saying I've seen those. And they could be some of the airplanes you're looking at.


No doubt. :yes:

I know a fine C-170 180h.p. that's lonely and collecting dust in a dark hangar right now because my old friend lost his medical. But he won't part with it.

Not yet.
 
No doubt. :yes:



I know a fine C-170 180h.p. that's lonely and collecting dust in a dark hangar right now because my old friend lost his medical. But he won't part with it.



Not yet.


There's a lot of that going on.
 
But don't become emotionally involved with an inanimate object.

And don't let pride in ownership let pride become your owner.

Top line, know why you purchased an inanimate object.

I don't disagree, but without letting the object own you and your time, pay some kid to wash it. :D I keep all my stuff clean, not show clean, but serviceably clean. I have my airplanes detailed once every 3 months and the boat has a more frequent cleaning schedule due to salt water.:D if one of them was for sale, I would have most of my personal items removed and they would be very clean when a prospective buyer came to look.:wink2:
 
It's as simple as presenting something for sale, as you would like to find it as a buyer.
 
That 180 really looks nice and deserves to. When I started flying in the late fiftys they were very common and I flew them and flew in them. Today it's rare to see one and especially that well cared for. In those days most were three pointed which was not a big deal. Nice stable airplane.
 
That 180 really looks nice and deserves to. When I started flying in the late fiftys they were very common and I flew them and flew in them. Today it's rare to see one and especially that well cared for. In those days most were three pointed which was not a big deal. Nice stable airplane.


Thanks. It was the classic story of like finding a muscle car in a barn, covered with dust and begging to be restored.

It's a low time 180, with the only damage history being a previous owner drug the wing across a stop sign and scarred the underside. Easy fix. And for some reason, it's zinc chromated all on the inside. Not all 180's were, usually only the sea plane 185s. This one has never seen water.

I'm going to set it back down on 8.50X6's as soon as they come in. I like the tundra's, but I'm on pavement too much. :)

 
Went to look at a Cessna 140 that was described in the ad as "an outstanding example" and "prime". The pictures looked pretty nice.
The reality: The plane looked like it had leprosy. Huge curls of paint peeling off the airframe, and he was storing household garbage IN the airplane. Then I noticed the plane had a totally different color then the plane in the ad..
He got insulted when I laughed out loud and told him if he paid me $500.00 I'd tow it away as scrap.
 
I have a question to those of you who are into spotless planes. Does that carry over into other parts of your life? Are you cars like that? Your homes? Your workshops and hangars? Really, I'm not being facetious, I really do want to know.

I had a friend who was not a pilot, but he did take "pride in ownership." He began a harangue about a situation that left me breathless. Another friend had spent the night in his home. The friend took a shower and FAILED TO WIPE DOWN THE SHOWER STALL. A week later he was still angry, and asked me how someone could be so inconsiderate as to fail to do something so necessary.

Am I missing something here? Am I out of touch with the rest of the world? I've never detailed my plane (or car) or wiped down a shower stall.
 
I have a question to those of you who are into spotless planes. Does that carry over into other parts of your life? Are you cars like that? Your homes? Your workshops and hangars? Really, I'm not being facetious, I really do want to know.

I had a friend who was not a pilot, but he did take "pride in ownership." He began a harangue about a situation that left me breathless. Another friend had spent the night in his home. The friend took a shower and FAILED TO WIPE DOWN THE SHOWER STALL. A week later he was still angry, and asked me how someone could be so inconsiderate as to fail to do something so necessary.

Am I missing something here? Am I out of touch with the rest of the world? I've never detailed my plane (or car) or wiped down a shower stall.




If you're looking at my plane, I'm not into a spotless plane all the time. The pictures are a couple of my best right after a polish job. :redface:

I guess it boils down to what you do with some of your time. :dunno:

It's only takes about 20 man hours I would say, to polish mine good enough. I consider that a well paying less than a week's work to keep the value up on mine, but that's just me. I can stand to do that once every two or three years. I look at it like I'm paying myself wages, and I don't want anyone else polishing it. Which is another curse of a polished plane, but if you've ever had one, you'd understand.
 
I have a question to those of you who are into spotless planes.

I started the thread, but I'm not into spotless planes. I"ve had a polished show plane in the past, and it was a lot of work to keep up. But, it sure looked nice, and I flew it a bunch, so it took a bit more time for upkeep. My car is clean, and vacuumed normally, just like most other people, my house is decently clean, but it gets some dust in areas. I'm not a clean freak and I'm not a slob.

My orig example, and the two I've seen after have been down right dirty to the point of being unsafe. The one in Austin was so dirty you could barely see out the windscreen. The one in Waco was dirty enough that I got my pants rather messed up just by leaning against the leading edge. This isn't normal two week accumulation. And what's worse is seeing old trash left in the plane. It's rather disheartening. Especially for a guy who's trying to sell me something. With the plane on Sat, the same thing happened. As we were getting ready to leave, the seller dropped his price about $6k from what the advertised price was. Imaging what we would have thought if he'd taken the time to get it out, wash it completely, vacuum inside, fill the front strut, put the battery in, and have it on the line, ready for inspection. Sounds like about 2-3 hours of work, but no - he just swung the door back and let us get all messed up while we poked around.
 
I have a question to those of you who are into spotless planes. Does that carry over into other parts of your life? Are you cars like that? Your homes? Your workshops and hangars? Really, I'm not being facetious, I really do want to know.

Yes, for the most part. I'm not as anal as your friend though. Or maybe I should say, not as neurotic.
 
We humans can be as eccentric as we like. The inanimate objects don't care. Only other humans with their own eccentricities.


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