Considering Refinishing Club/Standard Class Gliders for part time job

My job has really slowed down recently. I went from working nearly
all month to having 20 days off. Now that work has slowed down, I'm
looking for a side job.

Yes I've heard that refinishing sailplanes is extremely boring...well
so is, watching TV. I need something to do. I helped refinish the
wings on an asw-19 in high school,. Two months ago I overhauled/
polished my asw-15 fuselage from 400..on up to, 1500 grit sandpaper,
then waxed to a mirror finish. It made it far nicer than I would have
thought.

If I did this for a side income, I would only want to do a club class
or standard class glider. That seems easier to do and not have to
work around flaps and the extra stuff that adds more time. I've got a
place to work on the glider, in a large garage, for just a couple
hundred dollars a month. Also I have a couple advisors nearby who
have done this work before, both AP's and IA's who can sign off this
work.

I hear people saying that it's costing them up to 20,000 dollars to
have a glider refinished. If I only charged 10,000 (since I'm of low
experience), for a less complex glider, is this reasonable to say
someone might hire me? Is it also reasonable to say working 3 full
days a week, to get it done in 2-3 months?

Any thoughts would be great. I'm filling out applications for other
types of work too. I'd rather work in and around some sort of
aviation.

Happy New Year!
SA

On Jan 2, 6:50*am, wrote:
My job has really slowed down recently. *I went from working nearly
all month to having 20 days off. *Now that work has slowed down, I'm
looking for a side job.

Yes I've heard that refinishing sailplanes is extremely boring...well
so is, watching TV. *I need something to do. *I helped refinish the
wings on an asw-19 in high school,. *Two months ago I overhauled/
polished my asw-15 fuselage from 400..on up to, 1500 grit sandpaper,
then waxed to a mirror finish. *It made it far nicer than I would have
thought.

If I did this for a side income, I would only want to do a club class
or standard class glider. *That seems easier to do and not have to
work around flaps and the extra stuff that adds more time. *I've got a
place to work on the glider, in a large garage, for just a couple
hundred dollars a month. *Also I have a couple advisors nearby who
have done this work before, both AP's and IA's who can sign off this
work.

I hear people saying that it's costing them up to 20,000 dollars to
have a glider refinished. *If I only charged 10,000 (since I'm of low
experience), for a less complex glider, is this reasonable to say
someone might hire me? *Is it also reasonable to say working 3 full
days a week, to get it done in 2-3 months?

Any thoughts would be great. *I'm filling out applications for other
types of work too. *I'd rather work in and around some sort of
aviation.

Happy New Year!
SA

Scott,

I think anyone doing this type of work has to have a fair bit of
artistic talent, patience, a good sense of touch and a great eye for
detail.

Then you will need a bunch of tools for gel-coat removal, and re-
application; of gelcoat, or of the sprayable polyester fillers
available and equipment to apply them. Sanding blocks off all sizes
and densities, rules and splines and other contouring devices, and a
knowledge of how to use them. You could probably learn all this "on
the job", but be prepared and have lot's of patience.

Good luck!

BTW..................join us at one of our Akafliegs someday and you
can learn a lot about composite construction as well.

Brad

On Jan 2, 11:08*am, Brad wrote:
On Jan 2, 6:50*am, wrote:



My job has really slowed down recently. *I went from working nearly
all month to having 20 days off. *Now that work has slowed down, I'm
looking for a side job.

Yes I've heard that refinishing sailplanes is extremely boring...well
so is, watching TV. *I need something to do. *I helped refinish the
wings on an asw-19 in high school,. *Two months ago I overhauled/
polished my asw-15 fuselage from 400..on up to, 1500 grit sandpaper,
then waxed to a mirror finish. *It made it far nicer than I would have
thought.

If I did this for a side income, I would only want to do a club class
or standard class glider. *That seems easier to do and not have to
work around flaps and the extra stuff that adds more time. *I've got a
place to work on the glider, in a large garage, for just a couple
hundred dollars a month. *Also I have a couple advisors nearby who
have done this work before, both AP's and IA's who can sign off this
work.

I hear people saying that it's costing them up to 20,000 dollars to
have a glider refinished. *If I only charged 10,000 (since I'm of low
experience), for a less complex glider, is this reasonable to say
someone might hire me? *Is it also reasonable to say working 3 full
days a week, to get it done in 2-3 months?

Any thoughts would be great. *I'm filling out applications for other
types of work too. *I'd rather work in and around some sort of
aviation.

Happy New Year!
SA

Scott,

I think anyone doing this type of work has to have a fair bit of
artistic talent, patience, a good sense of touch and a great eye for
detail.

Then you will need a bunch of tools for gel-coat removal, and re-
application; of gelcoat, or of the sprayable polyester fillers
available and equipment to apply them. Sanding blocks off all sizes
and densities, rules and splines and other contouring devices, and a
knowledge of how to use them. You could probably learn all this "on
the job", but be prepared and have lot's of patience.

Good luck!

BTW..................join us at one of our Akafliegs someday and you
can learn a lot about composite construction as well.

Brad

Brad - You didn't check his weight and boot size !
See ya, Dave

On Jan 2, 7:50*am, wrote:


I hear people saying that it's costing them up to 20,000 dollars to
have a glider refinished. *If I only charged 10,000 (since I'm of low
experience), for a less complex glider, is this reasonable to say
someone might hire me? *

Good luck. You will probably get a variety of replies but mine is
that no one in their right mind would pay someone with low experience
to refinish their glider.

On the other hand I've seen some really nasty examples of what can
happen when an experienced refinisher farms out some of the high labor
work, so just contracting with someone experienced does not mean they
will do all the work. They will be good at hiding the mistakes
though. When it's all shinny who will know if those grind throughs
were repaired properly or just covered with primer?

If you really want to get into this, try finding an experienced
refinisher that will take you on as an apprentice.

Andy

On Jan 2, 8:28*am, DRN wrote:
On Jan 2, 11:08*am, Brad wrote:





On Jan 2, 6:50*am, wrote:

My job has really slowed down recently. *I went from working nearly
all month to having 20 days off. *Now that work has slowed down, I'm
looking for a side job.

Yes I've heard that refinishing sailplanes is extremely boring...well
so is, watching TV. *I need something to do. *I helped refinish the
wings on an asw-19 in high school,. *Two months ago I overhauled/
polished my asw-15 fuselage from 400..on up to, 1500 grit sandpaper,
then waxed to a mirror finish. *It made it far nicer than I would have
thought.

If I did this for a side income, I would only want to do a club class
or standard class glider. *That seems easier to do and not have to
work around flaps and the extra stuff that adds more time. *I've got a
place to work on the glider, in a large garage, for just a couple
hundred dollars a month. *Also I have a couple advisors nearby who
have done this work before, both AP's and IA's who can sign off this
work.

I hear people saying that it's costing them up to 20,000 dollars to
have a glider refinished. *If I only charged 10,000 (since I'm of low
experience), for a less complex glider, is this reasonable to say
someone might hire me? *Is it also reasonable to say working 3 full
days a week, to get it done in 2-3 months?

Any thoughts would be great. *I'm filling out applications for other
types of work too. *I'd rather work in and around some sort of
aviation.

Happy New Year!
SA

Scott,

I think anyone doing this type of work has to have a fair bit of
artistic talent, patience, a good sense of touch and a great eye for
detail.

Then you will need a bunch of tools for gel-coat removal, and re-
application; of gelcoat, or of the sprayable polyester fillers
available and equipment to apply them. Sanding blocks off all sizes
and densities, rules and splines and other contouring devices, and a
knowledge of how to use them. You could probably learn all this "on
the job", but be prepared and have lot's of patience.

Good luck!

BTW..................join us at one of our Akafliegs someday and you
can learn a lot about composite construction as well.

Brad

Brad - You didn't check his weight and boot size !
See ya, Dave- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Dave.....................you are right!
on the job application that will/would be grounds for elimination from
consideration due to violation of the preparation of the
lamination....................good call......

Brad

How do I post a picture on here? Is that possible?

I'd like to show the before and after pictures of my ASW-15.

Ok seem's like I'm up to the challenge. I'm pretty fastidious when it
comes to cosmetic stuff like this. I made my glider do a 180 in it's
image. I spent endless hours in the garage and in the back yard,
sweeping through all the details to make it look new again. It came a
long way, and I can make it look even better with the plans I have yet
to complete. Lots of fun for me, listen to talk radio, good 80's
music, and have the ability to stand back to look at what you've
done.

Andy wrote:
On Jan 2, 7:50 am, wrote:


I hear people saying that it's costing them up to 20,000 dollars to
have a glider refinished. If I only charged 10,000 (since I'm of low
experience), for a less complex glider, is this reasonable to say
someone might hire me?

Good luck. You will probably get a variety of replies but mine is
that no one in their right mind would pay someone with low experience
to refinish their glider.

On the other hand I've seen some really nasty examples of what can
happen when an experienced refinisher farms out some of the high labor
work, so just contracting with someone experienced does not mean they
will do all the work. They will be good at hiding the mistakes
though. When it's all shinny who will know if those grind throughs
were repaired properly or just covered with primer?

If you really want to get into this, try finding an experienced
refinisher that will take you on as an apprentice.

Andy



I would think you need to refinish one glider first, just to figure out
what is involved, to convince potential customers that you can do it,
and to learn whether this really is something you want to do.
Refinishing is a lot more involved than just polishing a glider. Maybe
a friend has a glider that badly needs refinishing?

There are a lot of amateur refinish jobs out there, and the biggest
problem with them is that boredom often hits before all the old gelcoat
is removed. Unfortunately, the effects of this don't show up until
later, so there are reasons that people paying good money for
refinishing prefer to go to someone with a proven track record.

On Jan 2, 2:09*pm, Greg Arnold wrote:
Andy wrote:
On Jan 2, 7:50 am, wrote:

I hear people saying that it's costing them up to 20,000 dollars to
have a glider refinished. *If I only charged 10,000 (since I'm of low
experience), for a less complex glider, is this reasonable to say
someone might hire me? *

Good luck. *You will probably get a variety of replies but mine is
that no one in their right mind would pay someone with low experience
to refinish their glider.

On the other hand I've seen some really nasty examples of what can
happen when an experienced refinisher farms out some of the high labor
work, so just contracting with someone experienced does not mean they
will do all the work. *They will be good at hiding the mistakes
though. *When it's all shinny who will know if those grind throughs
were repaired properly or just covered with primer?

If you really want to get into this, try finding an experienced
refinisher that will take you on as an apprentice.

Andy

I would think you need to refinish one glider first, just to figure out
what is involved, to convince potential customers that you can do it,
and to learn whether this really is something you want to do.
Refinishing is a lot more involved than just polishing a glider. *Maybe
a friend has a glider that badly needs refinishing?

There are a lot of amateur refinish jobs out there, and the biggest
problem with them is that boredom often hits before all the old gelcoat
is removed. *Unfortunately, the effects of this don't show up until
later, so there are reasons that people paying good money for
refinishing prefer to go to someone with a proven track record.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Andy,

Good point....well taken. I think I will use this free time, to do
the wings on my ASW-15, they really need it.

There's a big difference between sanding/polishing existing gel coat.....and
a true refinish job.

You'd probably earn more and work less hard at MacDonald's.


wrote in message
...
On Jan 2, 2:09 pm, Greg Arnold wrote:
Andy wrote:
On Jan 2, 7:50 am, wrote:

I hear people saying that it's costing them up to 20,000 dollars to
have a glider refinished. If I only charged 10,000 (since I'm of low
experience), for a less complex glider, is this reasonable to say
someone might hire me?

Good luck. You will probably get a variety of replies but mine is
that no one in their right mind would pay someone with low experience
to refinish their glider.

On the other hand I've seen some really nasty examples of what can
happen when an experienced refinisher farms out some of the high labor
work, so just contracting with someone experienced does not mean they
will do all the work. They will be good at hiding the mistakes
though. When it's all shinny who will know if those grind throughs
were repaired properly or just covered with primer?

If you really want to get into this, try finding an experienced
refinisher that will take you on as an apprentice.

Andy

I would think you need to refinish one glider first, just to figure out
what is involved, to convince potential customers that you can do it,
and to learn whether this really is something you want to do.
Refinishing is a lot more involved than just polishing a glider. Maybe
a friend has a glider that badly needs refinishing?

There are a lot of amateur refinish jobs out there, and the biggest
problem with them is that boredom often hits before all the old gelcoat
is removed. Unfortunately, the effects of this don't show up until
later, so there are reasons that people paying good money for
refinishing prefer to go to someone with a proven track record.- Hide
quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Andy,

Good point....well taken. I think I will use this free time, to do
the wings on my ASW-15, they really need it.