Given the prevalence of salt during the winter months up in the northeast of the country, what would it take to maintain a 182 that was 80% bare aluminum? Assume it's flown 2x a week regardless of season and kept in a hangar. Reason I'm asking is that, given the quotes from the various shops it doesn't make financial sense to paint it (yeah, yeah, aviation.) Since it's not my bird yet, I don't even know if it can be buffed to a full shine. That said, I am absolutely in love with the vintage look!
It's not so much the salt as it is everything else to include rain left on the polished aluminum. Know of several aircraft along Gulf coast (salt laden atmosphere year-round) that keep their shine with no "additional" work due to the salt. If you start with a top-shelf polish like Nuvite, follow the instructions and other tips, plus hangar it and cover it, I've seen the "vintage look" last 6-12 months between polishes. Regardless, it definitely takes more work to maintain a polished aircraft vs painted.
Get it wrapped. Costs less, weighs less. You could even just do full CLEAR wrap and have the best of both worlds.
The insides of most 182s is bare aluminum no matter what is on the outside... unless newer than 1980 ish
In that case, I have 2 left hands. Is there any airplane exterior shop in the northeast that can do the initial buffing? I think I could do the constant wiping after every flight.
Unless you’re landing on public roads you should not be anywhere near salt, salt is a NO NO for use on airports, and smart people don’t even use it around their homes. North east winters are actually rather dry, I would have zero issue with a polished plane.
