On Sunday, January 12, 2020 at 12:48:37 AM UTC-5, wrote:
On Saturday, January 11, 2020 at 4:58:48 PM UTC-6, son_of_flubber wrote:
On Thursday, January 9, 2020 at 12:54:02 AM UTC-5, Shaun Wheeler wrote:

It's not that I can't manage to come up with 25 grand to paint it, I'm just a little hesitant when I see sailplanes that are current and inspected for less.


I guess you want to do the refinish it as a sentimental labor of love, or preserve history, or just for the hell of it. If you don't feel that way, maybe you should sell it (now and as-is) to someone who does feel that way.

What are you hoping it will be worth resale after you spend $25K on it? Are there any buyers?
In the worlds of one of most famous American aviators, Larry Walters, "A man can't just sit around."

I don't hunt anymore, not really that into fishing and I don't play golf. I'm single and my kids are all grown. I don't drink, smoke, or gamble and, well, it just didn't seem right that I didn't have any vices. So I thought to myself, what better way to kill time than running a sander stripping gelcoat?

I knew at the price I could end up with a halfway decent rebuildable covered trailer with some pieces parts of an aging limited production sailplane that I *might* be able to sell to somebody else who needs to do a repair. But.....value? Don't

The only one for sale right now on W&W is asking 12K. The paint is in slightly better shape, but not much. I don't realistically expect to get the 39:1 it had the day it left the factory but it'll probably do better than some of the fabric and dope versions out there.

I suppose if somebody made me an offer on it before I take a sander to it I'd sure give it some thought.

Expect to spend between 400 and 500 hours on your project. We can do a ship that size in 400 hours, but we've done it a few times and know the tricks. That is hours with tools in hand doing work. Unless you are fairly young you will not be able to do more than 3-4 productive hours a day.
About 1/2 way through the second day you will be thinking "there must be an easier way". Sadly the only easier way is to get someone else to do the work, if you can find them.
When you are done you will have a glider worth maybe $20,000.
Good luck
UH