Polish and ship? or Ship and Polish?

[sandgrubber]

I'm gearing up to begin work on a 1971 Caravel, which I will eventually take with me to New Zealand when I move. Its surface is dull and greyish; looks like someone put some sort of finish on it years ago and it went dead. Vanity urges me to get out the polish. Another side of me says, wait until you get there. RoRo (roll on roll off) transport may be pretty hard on the exterior shell. Might as well let the salt attack the accumulated gunk and oxidation and take it all off together when you get there. What do you think?

[65CV]

Originally Posted by sandgrubber

... which I will eventually take with me to New Zealand... What do you think?

Depends on how long eventually is.

If it's fairly soon, I would recommend washing and two coats of wax to try to protect the surface from any deep pitting caused by salt. Immediately after arrival, you will want to wash and rinse really well -- especially the undercarriage.

[Ganaraska]

There must be some protective coating or substance you can spray on and wash off. Wonder what they do when storing and shipping aluminum aircraft?

I would be tempted to wrap it in bubble wrap then get it shrink wrapped by a marina that does boats for winter storage and shipping. Could cost a few hundred $$$ bux but protect the outside from damage, and prevent unwanted entry too. If it arrives with the wrapping removed or damaged you have evidence it was tampered with.

[Boom Sounds]

I think it will be cheaper to polish in the states or even paint if you can get to a good metallic paint shop. There are some recommendations on the forum. If you polish it, you'll need to maintain it every year

[Flat Creek]

I do allot of international shipping, Roll on Roll off units are not on the outside of the vessel, they are in the cargo holds on with side of the ships containers... your unit will never see the sea water..

Enjoy your Caravel!

RJ