BUT - I did finish the polish job. YEAH! After it was all said and done, I logged roughly 60 hours into the project. Fortunately I had help for about 20 of those hours. And a BIG help from my friends for donating spare shirts for my project. I couldn't have done this without the shirts of off their backs! (I needed extra cotton rags, and some good friends were willing to donate. Thanks!)
So you can see my homemade scaffolding here in this shot.
It was pretty safe, but I still nearly fell of twice :-)
It wasn't exactly OSHA-approved, but it enabled me to get to the higher places. It was really, really tough to get the top areas.
This is what it looked like pre-polishing. You can see the remnants of the original Wally Bynam number (9318). The number goes with the owner, not the trailer. I was able to track down the original owner, a man from Ft. Dodge, Iowa who bought the trailer in 1964 and sold it in 1980. I know that the next owner lived and kept the trailer in South Dakota from 1980-2006, when I bought the trailer and moved it here to Denver. You can see the 50-year old nameplate there on the front. It used to be a nice, royal blue color.
Once I had all of the top portion polished, I began work on restoring the nameplate.Using a technique I use for pinewood derby cars, I masked the letters with painters tape.
She's ready for paintin'!
I found a very nice deep blue spray paint at Home Depot. It was the closest I could get to the original Airstream Blue. I figured 2-coats should hold up fine for a few years at least!The final product, with the tape removed. You can see in this shot that I'm not quite done with the bottom portion. I decided to keep moving around the backside to focus on getting the highest spots done.
Then for fun, I went out and got some "Glass Chalk" to customize my own Bynam numbers and add a quick little graphic to show everyone where we come from: 5280' - the Mile High City.
It was a daunting task...and I'm glad I'm done!
On a bit of a sad note, I found out that my Uncle Grady passed away over Memorial Weekend. This was my last weekend for polishing. I found myself reflecting on his life during my alone time, working on the trailer. He taught me many things in my life, and I always enjoyed catching up with him at family functions. He will be sadly missed. But I thank him for the time he spent with us, and for providing happy memories to keep me focused and directed during my last push. Thank you, Grady, for all that you were to us. I promise to do my part to allow your legacy to live on! a.Z.
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