Anybody who has ever decided to polish an airplane probably knows that feeling when you wonder why you ever decided to start. Well we are past the point of no return with our little Cessna 120 and it is looking better and better every day. There has been countless hours (we actually stopped counting) put into a project that at first was just going to fix a few little things on the airplane. Now most of the airplane has been disassembled and piece by piece it is turning into a great looking polished aluminum vintage airplane.

The Fuselage is mostly done, and lately much of the work has focused on the tail, doors and cowling. The challenge on the tail surfaces are the ridges that mean you can’t just make nice sweeping passes over an area. Instead care has to be taken to work around each fold in the aluminum, but the end result is great.

The doors are looking good as well, as is the cowling. There was a fair amount of work needed on the cowling to get it back into good shape, so now we are busy sanding the roughed up metal down to a polish as can be seen in the picture below.

With summer on its way, and a few other projects always rotating through the front burner, we’re not sure when the 120 will be back in the air. But we’re very excited to get it flying again and get a chance to show off its new polished look.

We have decided to take the wings off of the Cessna 120 for a touch up on the wings and to pull the engine off of the front end to detail the engine and firewall.

We have removed the wings and the fuselage needs one more cut of compound. Having the wings and the doors off of the fuselage will make this process much easier.

The cowling all sanded and ready for buffing.

All of the baffeling has been removed so it can be cleaned and detailed.

Ready for the engine to be removed so detailing of engine and firewall can begin.

This 1946 Cessna 120 purchased by Harold Hanson back in 2000 is an original airframe with fabric wings. The Engine is a C-85-12 without electrical system which keeps the airplane light and is how it came  from the factory. Our goal for this 120 is to bring the cosmetic appearance of this airplane up to the standards that everyone has come to expect at this museum.

We have removed the Stabilizer, Elevators, Fin and Rudder for some light re-skinning as there is slight damage due to hail.

With removal of all of the tail feathers and then removal of the stripe with paint stripping sanding has begun to remove all surface scratches and light oxidation on aluminum skins.

After the first cut of compound the skin is starting to shine right up. Pretty soon it will be like looking into a mirror.

A good clear view of the sanding that is being done. When we are finished the airplane will have been sanded with 800, 1000,1500,2000,2500 and 3000 grit sandpaper. Takes a toll on the fingers but the outcome is worth it.