For those of you who follow us, you probably have seen or we've probably told you that in 2011 we were part of an elite group of detailers who were chosen around the globe to be a part of a team to detail the original Air Force One Boeing 707 aircraft on display at the Museum of Flight. This piece of aviation history served in the presidential fleet from Presidents Eisenhower through Bill Clinton. This year, we were invited again.
On August 4, 2013, we flew to SeaTac Airport in Washington state to begin our 6 day detail on the aircraft.
Air Force one: SAM970 Monday morning before we got to work
The task for the week was to detail Air Force One, Boeing's first 737, and a fleet of fighter jets. The museum had already washed AFO for us, so we needed to detail every exterior surface; from the top of the tail, to the most underside of the belly, the entire jet was polished and protected.
The mission was to polish every painted surface, and every aluminum surface. While paint correction is one of our specialties, the goal in this project was to preserve history and make it look as best we could without taking a lot of life away from both the paint and the cladding on the aluminum. Performing countless test spots on both the paint and aluminum to see what would yield the best result, the team finally came to the conclusion with what worked best, and we had it.
Below is a test spot showing a before and after side by side on one of the 4 engines
Test spot on the engine of Air Force One: MIRROR RESULT
Detailing a jet of this size is no easy task, from ladders, to 3-4 man lifts, to cherry pickers to reach the top of the tail and fuselage, there wasn't an inch of this plane that went untouched. One of the biggest priorities on this project wasn't just bringing back AFO to a state better than its ever seen, but to keep each and every team member safe from injury. We are all proud to say that no one was hurt on this project, not even a scratch!
We'd like to personally thank every team member, sponsor, and those who made this project a possibility, to every catered and sponsored lunch, we thank all of you!
If we are trusted to detail one of our nations most prized pieces of history, who else could you trust more in Scottsdale or the Phoenix area to detail and take care of your automobile or airplane? Now, enjoy the pictures and video below! Clicking on both pictures below will change to the next picture in the gallery. As always, happy detailing.
-The Detail Boss
