Air Force One Selected Team Member 2013
August 23, 2013
Detailing The Historical Lockheed Electra
October 31, 2013
iFiberOne, September 11, 2013 by Bill Stevenson
Bill “The Buff Man” Quinn returned from Seattle, leaving the original Air Force 1 shining.
He was part of a team of 35 detailers used to polish the famous Boeing 707-120 aircraft at the Museum of Flight.
The plane needed care after spending two years outdoors in Western Washington weather.
“It was definitely hard work,” Quinn stated. “The bright work is a lot harder to get clean than paint. In two years, metals, when exposed to the weather and atmosphere, begin to oxidize and it gets cloudy. It is the same process that turns a sliced apple brown or a penny green.”
Quinn worked with the team to clean and shine the aluminum surfaces
“We have to heft a 5-pound Flex orbital polisher at eye level, and in some places, overhead to get the right angles, which can sometimes be awkward and very tiring for the upper body,” he stated.
The bottom half of the plane and inside the engine rims are shiny aluminum. Quinn said they wanted to make it shire enough to see reflections like a mirror.
“That is the state we are working to achieve when we polish the bright work,” Quinn stated. “After a couple of passes and about three days, by most people’s standards, it is shiny again. However, you are dealing with a team of professional detailers who are extremely picky … We went over the plane at least ten times to brush up a couple more spots we felt could be better.”
Before leaving Renton, some of the team began to polish the first NASA Boeing 737 used to zero gravity simulations. It is on display at the Museum of Flight with the original Air Force One.
His experience working at Genie in Moses Lake led to his use of a GenieLift to clean the plane’s vertical stabilizer, which caused him to work about 60 feet off the ground.
Quinn said the experience that led to him working on the planes comes from his work in Ephrata. He is proud of his work on detailing cars, boats and aircraft.
“That is the kind of professionalism we bring our everyday clients as well,” Quinn stated.<.p>
For more information about detailing, contact Quinn at 509-398-1284.
