Adding Bling - buffing the gear

[jtpitkin06]

Adding the bling factor is one of my goals on the Kitfox.



I’ve been buffing the aluminum hinges, control columns, and other items just to give it some shine.



I decided to tackle the Grove landing gear. The gear came from the factory with a dull aluminum finish that looks like someone sanded it with a DA sander and 120 grit. Little tiny circle scratches the size of BB’s cover the surface.


The spring gear is a bit like wrestling a truck bumper so holding it up to a buffing wheel was not in the cards for me. I clamped it down to a padded saw horse with a wood workers double screw clamp to prevent scratches and pulled out the Makita. The Makita is a large variable speed angled sander grinder that can swing a 12 inch diameter buffing wheel. It’s powerful and can make short workof most buffing projects.



After an hour of prep sanding with 600 grit and another hour hanging on to the Makita I had a somewhat shiny but not perfect landing gear along with black smudges on my cheeks and nose. My hands were black and so were my clothes and the shop apron.


A close inspection of the gear reveals the surface still has those little tiny circles from the factory. The scratches are not deep but the landing gear is extremely hard. At this point I’m looking at a starting the process over with the wet sanding or throwing in the towel and letting the pros do it.


This may be a case where a trip to the plating shop may be in order. I think I’ll let some gorilla that does this every day tackle the job and I’ll just write a check.


John Pitkin

[szicree]

You may want to look over on the Van's Airforce forum. The -8 uses a grove gear and lots of guys polish them. I think the alloy goes dull pretty quick though, so you'll be repolishing pretty often. I think a nice shiny paint (silver metallic maybe) would be a lot less trouble in the long run.

[akarmy]

Maybe John has some ideas for you. Take a look at Yankee Bravo

http://www.teamkitfox.com/Forums/picture.php?albumid=110&pictureid=1426

[HighWing]

The tarnish issue is a question of mine. The gear alloy, I understand is 7075-T6 a very hard alloy and is available in the alclad version in sheets to resist corrosion. The gear is bar material that probably begins as the 7075-0 version, is machined to shape and then bent and heat treated to the T6 hardness - not alclad. I once had an antique car of Nickle age vintage and it was bugger to keep the bright work bright. It was correct in all respects and painted in lacquer as well. Not many times did I feel it was fun to spend an hour or three keeping it shiny. A close friend polished everything including wheels on his Kitfox and liked the time spent with the airplane keeping it nice. That is not me. My gear was painted - no hassle - looks good and more time to fly.
Lowell

[Peteohms]

Now Don, I'm going to tell you the straight scoop from one Texan to another.

When I got my Kitfox III, it was nice and shiney. No bugs or dirt. But what I have discovered is that when each of those bugs smash against my landing gear, wings and prop the deposits become tiny vortex generators. This smooths the air over all the surfaces of your plane, reducing drag and increasing your airspeed. I suspect that the minute scratches have the same effect. The moral of the story is don't wash and NEVER polish.

By the way, when you go to fly-ins with your shiny new Fox, nobody's going to look at it. They'll all be gawking over some guy's 1932 Pietenpol or an old Piper cub. ;>)

Would I lie?

[Dave S]

Hi John,

Polished aluminum on planes is a real eyecatcher and neat detail to set one's craft apart.

I don't have polished aluminum on my plane but I admire those who have because it is a neat a look and I know how much work goes into it.

FYI - we have two 50's vintage aluminum skinned planes at our field that are kept polished all the time. A person does need to invest time to keep that shine up.

Also have a person with a new kitfox build at the field with polished gear legs.

I don't know how much metal polishing work like this you have done before so if I ask a stupid question - just forgive me:o. Question is this - what kind of polishing compound do you have to use with the wheel? What kind of RPM do you have on the wheel?

I think you are on the right track - it's just a matter of working the surface with one grade of material before going to the next finer grade.:)

Sincerely,
Dave S
KF7 Trigear

Dave

[szicree]

Has anybody called grove to find out how they polish them??

[jdmcbean]

Has anybody called grove to find out how they polish them??

Grove does not polish them.... Elbow grease and patience.

[inzersv]

I just tried to call Grove, but they close at 1600 Pacific Time. I will call in the morning and let everyone know what I find out. I don't want to paint mine.

[szicree]

Thanks John. I just figured they'd have done it at least a few times to show off their product.

[Esser]

This article may help you out John
http://www.russellw.com/planes/ryan/polishing.htm

[War Eagle]

I used an air sander and 400 grit wet/dry paper, then I went to 600 grit and got all the swirls out of the gear. Then I used Flitz Aluminum polish to get the shine.Probably put about 10+ hours behind the air sander and about 4 hours with the Flitz.Without some power tools the job would be a killer.

[chefwarthog]

I have discovered is that when each of those bugs smash against my landing gear, wings and prop the deposits become tiny vortex generators. This smooths the air over all the surfaces of your plane, reducing drag and increasing your airspeed. I suspect that the minute scratches have the same effect. The moral of the story is don't wash and NEVER polish.


Would I lie?

Is those Call ''V Beez'' vortex generator kits!!!:D

[MotReklaw]

I used the Nuvite polishing compounds to bring my gear up to a high gloss. I have extra and would share some if you want. It is dirty, but not very abrasive and will give your gear that high gloss shine that we all admire. Just let me know.... I have about four different levels that will take you from dull to highly polished.....

[Tom Waid]

I will probably use Nuvite (http://www.nuvitechemical.com/) to polish my gear in spite of the fact that, after 20 years playing tuba in The U. S. Army Band (http://www.usarmyband.com/), I promised myself that I would never again polish large metal objects.

[MotReklaw]

I will probably use Nuvite (http://www.nuvitechemical.com/) to polish my gear in spite of the fact that, after 20 years playing tuba in The U. S. Army Band (http://www.usarmyband.com/), I promised myself that I would never again polish large metal objects.

LoL Tom, I polished an entire airplane once and promised the same. But then again, the main gear is so small in comparison. It only took about 1.5 hours....

[jtpitkin06]

War Eagle's tip of starting with 400 then going to 600 did the trick. The 600 was just too fine to take the tiny circles out of the surface. The 400 grit was aggressive enough to get the job done and then proceed to 600. The final buffing made the surface of the gear pop and shine!

I've only finished the bottom side. It took about 15 minutes. I now know I'm on the right track. Thanks for the tip as buffing is definitely not an area of expertise for me.

Now if we can just come up with a method to keep clean while doing a messy job. I covered up as much as I could. Everything turn's black from the aluminum slurry but with disposable clothing I stayed pretty clean underneath.

In the end, I'd say the effort is worth it. The gear shines like the one on the cover of AOPA pilot. I don't care that it is a recurrent maintenance item as the re-shine can't be nearly as hard as the initial buffing and it's a good rainy day project. I dont' have to remove the sanding circles on the reshine... just buff it back up.

My tools consisted of the Makita Sander Polisher with variable speed 0-2800 RPM. A 3M 12 inch double sided buffing pad. A Porter Cable DA sander with 400 wet/dry discs. 3M medium and fine buffing compound finish restorer, tyvek painters coveralls, latex gloves and a Sears face shield.

Tomorrow I will turn the gear over and do the other side.

John Pitkin
Greenville, TX

[jamesmil]

hi guys, found this product for getting the shine on the gear after sanding and buffing. works great and is easy to use.
got the dar. coming tomorrow for inspection on 92mh. hope to get the first flite in tomorrow afternoon, will post some pic,s after :D
the site for the polish is at "california custom products"

[darrell pralle]

I polished the gear on my 7 about 2 months ago. Took about 10 hrs. I started with 320 grit and a ramdon orbital sander, then wet sanded with 400, then 1400. Then polished with mothers mag and aluminum wheel polish using mothers tapered wheel polishing kit. All mothers products are available at most auto parts stores. Hope this helps. Darrell