autogeekonline car wax, car care and auto detailing forum Autogeek on TV
car wax, car care and auto detailing forumAutogeekonline autogeekonline car wax, car care and auto detailing forum HomeForumBlogAutogeek.net StoreDetailing Classes with Mike PhillipsGalleryDetailing How To's
 
Page 1 of 3 123 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 30
  1. #1
    Super Member Joe@Superior Shine's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2009
    Location
    San Gabriel Valley, Los Angeles County
    Posts
    1,073
    Post Thanks / Like

    WOW! An amazing Mustang with over 1400 horsepower!

    Bunny is her name. She is a P-51 Mustang. She belongs to the Palm Springs Air Museum in Palm Springs California and had just completed a 14 month restoration,

    I first saw Bunny on her facebook page and she looked like this.



    I thought if they are going to keep the fuselage bare aluminum I want to polish it.

    I reached out to them and made contact with Brian Ratliff. He said they would welcome the help. Soon after I went over to meet with the crew working on Bunny.

    Here I am performing a test spot on the sanded aluminum.



    When the fellas working on her saw the test spot they were sold on the idea and arrangements were made for us to polish her.



    A few days later we arrived at the airport to find Bunny out on the tarmac waiting for us.



    Polishing aluminum is a dirty job so polishing outside on a cool day is preferred to dirtying up and making a mess of the hanger.

  2. #2
    Super Member Joe@Superior Shine's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2009
    Location
    San Gabriel Valley, Los Angeles County
    Posts
    1,073
    Post Thanks / Like

    Re: WOW! An amazing Mustang with over 1400 horsepower!

    We set up our scaffold and other equipment and got to work.

    We started by masking off areas we didn't want to polish.



    Here is Enrique getting started on the cutting step near the nose.



    We did HARDCORE POLISHING all day long. Here is our progress about mid-day.





    Here Brad is getting started on the other side of Bunny.



    By the end of the day we had done a ton of polishing. Our muscles were sore but we were greatly rewarded with an awesome shine on a magnificent war bird!




  3. #3
    Super Member Kamakaz1961's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2013
    Location
    Tustin, CA
    Posts
    4,389
    Post Thanks / Like

    Re: WOW! An amazing Mustang with over 1400 horsepower!

    Wow you make detailers PROUD!! Beautiful!!
    CJ
    2013 Mustang GT w/Track Pack 6-Speed Manual
    Save the Manual!

  4. #4
    Super Member Joe@Superior Shine's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2009
    Location
    San Gabriel Valley, Los Angeles County
    Posts
    1,073
    Post Thanks / Like

    Re: WOW! An amazing Mustang with over 1400 horsepower!

    Here is Bunny in the hanger. At this point most of the polishing had been completed.








  5. #5
    Super Member conman1395's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Location
    Kansas City, KS
    Posts
    1,622
    Post Thanks / Like

    Re: WOW! An amazing Mustang with over 1400 horsepower!

    What products did you use? I'm really curious what you have to use to machine polish something like this. I've only ever hand polished small parts before.
    Former professional detailer. Current medical student (class of 2023)

    2017 Infiniti Q60 3.0t AWD

  6. #6
    Super Member kevincwelch's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2013
    Location
    Oak Park, IL (Chicagoland)
    Posts
    2,686
    Post Thanks / Like

    Re: WOW! An amazing Mustang with over 1400 horsepower!

    Cadillac of the sky. I LOVE this.

    Perfection is attained by slow degrees; it requires the hand of time. (Voltaire)
    2013 TESLA MODEL S | Gyeon Syncro | Gyeon Cancoat

  7. #7
    Super Member AZ Mike's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Location
    Phoenix, Arizona
    Posts
    1,128
    Post Thanks / Like

    Re: WOW! An amazing Mustang with over 1400 horsepower!

    Beautiful.
    AZ Mike aka "Repeat"

  8. #8
    Super Member Joe@Superior Shine's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2009
    Location
    San Gabriel Valley, Los Angeles County
    Posts
    1,073
    Post Thanks / Like

    Re: WOW! An amazing Mustang with over 1400 horsepower!

    After we finished polishing Bunny the crew at California Aerofab spent countless hours reassembling her. Various panels had to be rehung, her engine re-installed and a million other things had to be done I am sure.







    The museum had decided to paint the P-51 to represent an example flown by Lieutenant Colonel Bob Friend, one of the famed Tuskegee Airmen.

    On Feb 27th 2015 a ceremonial unveiling was held at the Palm Springs Air Museum.

    Lt. Bob Friend was there as well as a few other Tuskegee Airmen.



    Here she is just before the unveiling.



    Here is Bunny in all her glory!! She does look sweet!!





    The Tuskegee Airmen present at the event signed the tail.


  9. #9
    Super Member tenblade2001's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2014
    Posts
    808
    Post Thanks / Like

    Re: WOW! An amazing Mustang with over 1400 horsepower!

    GREAT work! Don't let Harrison Ford take it for a spin.

  10. #10
    Super Member Joe@Superior Shine's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2009
    Location
    San Gabriel Valley, Los Angeles County
    Posts
    1,073
    Post Thanks / Like

    Re: WOW! An amazing Mustang with over 1400 horsepower!

    She still can use a bit more polishing work. She is kind of a work in progress. I'll be down at the museum from time to time to dial here in perfect.

    Here is a news story about Bunny -

    Palm Springs Air Museum Receives their P-51D after 14 Months of restoration.

    and her is her Facebook page - P-51 "Bunny" Facebook page

    This is where you can see Bunny. - Palm Springs Air Museum


  11. Likes mbkite liked this post
Page 1 of 3 123 LastLast

Similar Threads

  1. Auto Butler $1400 SAY WHAT!!!
    By Mr V in forum Auto Detailing 101
    Replies: 10
    Last Post: 07-10-2020, 07:35 AM
  2. Replies: 25
    Last Post: 03-28-2016, 07:54 AM
  3. Wet/Dry Vac Horsepower Needs?
    By dchawk81 in forum Auto Detailing 101
    Replies: 24
    Last Post: 07-26-2013, 04:56 PM
  4. Replies: 75
    Last Post: 06-07-2012, 07:54 PM
  5. BIG horsepower Evo!!!
    By tripperfx3 in forum Show N' Shine
    Replies: 9
    Last Post: 08-19-2008, 02:15 AM

Members who have read this thread: 0

There are no members to list at the moment.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  

» March 2024

S M T W T F S
2526272829 1 2
3 4 5 6 7 8 9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23
24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31 123456