Evan J made local paper

**KBsToy** · 09-17-2014, 04:57 PM

Western Pennsylvania detailers refurbish original Air Force One | TribLIVE

**Tato** · 09-17-2014, 05:07 PM

Wonderful, great to see and read the news. Congratulations Evan!

**hernandez.art13** · 09-17-2014, 05:30 PM

Two Western Pennsylvania auto detailers recently got the chance to clean up history.

Evan Jankowski of Tarentum and Doug Parfitt of Whitehall used their skills to refurbish the exterior of the original Air Force One jet in Seattle's Museum of Flight, where the plane is housed.

“It's very humbling,” said Jankow-ski, who owns Premier Auto Detailing in Tarentum and is a former part-time police officer for the borough. “A total of 50 people have gotten to work on that plane. I'm very grateful to be chosen.”

The men, who were chosen from hundreds of applicants through the Detailing Success Network, also got to help refurbish one of the famous Concorde jets, which could fly from Paris to New York in under four hours.

But it was obvious the original Air Force One jet was the star of the show.

This was the first time Jankowski had the opportunity to work on the plane, dubbed SAM 970, that carted Presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy.

Parfitt has worked on the jet three times. The Boeing 707 was retired from Air Force One duty in 1962. Although not the first plane used exclusively to transport presidents, the plane was the first to carry the unique air traffic control designation of Air Force One.

“The airplane needed a lot of correction,” said Parfitt, who owns Eye For Detail, a mobile detailing company that operates out of Pittsburgh. “They have a lot of oxidation on them from the weather.”

Jankowski and Parfitt agreed that there are some major differences between cars and airplanes.

“The hardest part of detailing Air Force One was the aluminum,” said Jankowski, “being that it was from the '60s and was in such bad condition that you couldn't see any gloss on the plane.

“It's notoriously hard to detail a black car,” he said. “The aluminum was 1,000 times harder.

“I worked on engine four. It was extremely difficult.”

Parfitt said the height of the plane proved a challenge.

“You're never really on the ground,” he said. “You're going to use the same equipment and products that you do on cars, but on a much larger scale.”

The two men will continue to work on the plane for years to come, donating a week each year to preserve American history. “Next year, we're going to do one more preservation project,” Jankowski said. “Then, we'll go back yearly to keep it updated.”

Parfitt said the hours are long and the work is tough, but he wouldn't have it any other way.

“You work from the time you get up,” he said. “They're 10- to 12-hour days, but it's a blast.

“It's a true honor, and you really build camaraderie with these guys.”