Hi Carl!

I will agree that this is off-topic, and I must say is interesting!

I'm trying to imagine what effort it is taking for your freind to convert a
727 into a home, it really is something...I've read through a lot of his
progress reports, but not all, but I found the FAQ at his page most
informative as to why he is doing something like this...I must say, he does
point out some good reasons for this.

Although there may be some snickers at his efforts, there are have been, and
are, unusual homes built by others. One such is the "Beer Can House" check it
out at:

http://www.hgtv.com/HGTV/project/0,1158,BDRE_project_1113,FF.html

Sounds like you would need to get a bunch of buddies together for one
MARATHON party for that...hehehe.

Another is the Missile Silo Houses, go to: http://www.missilebases.com/

Here you can have 18,000 sq. ft. of space to model to your desires. Just hope
that any country that has ICBM's have updated the targeting data for their
missiles to these sites as being residential areas...and NOT functional ICBM
sites...

As to the dilemma of what to "paint" the aircraft with...the best thing to do
with aluminum (which is undoubtably what the skin is made of) anodizing
provides the best finish. But we can't very well make a tank big enough to
anodize the whole bloody aircraft, and I'm sure we don't want to take the
plane apart piece-by-piece to do that.

Another consideration to think about is how any finish is going to be
applied. This I assume is going to be done on the site, out in the open,
without the benefit of a Hanger that will sheild the aircraft from the
elements.

From my Navy days as a aircraft structural mechanic, we used to do our
corrosion inspections on T-28's in South Texas humidity, on the flight lines
sometimes, and use a Zinc Chromate primer, with a polyurethane final
coat...not the most enviromentally freindly finishes. But that's what we
used...

This isn't gonna be a easy one for your freind...and from what I know, there
is always going to be some maintenance of the finish down the line...

Cheers,

-Steve Gregory-


Definitely off-topic, but interesting . . .

I have a friend who is making his new home out of a 727 airplane (see
www.AirplaneHome.com <http://www.AirplaneHome.com>  for details).  He is
investigating coatings he might use to "paint the house", and has rejected
his first choice (Kapton) when he found that it deteriorates when exposed to
UV and Oxygen (I think that was what it was).   Since I've seen some amazing
insights shared on this group, I thought I'd dangle this challenge in front
of the group to see what happens . . .  Any (and all) suggestions will be
appreciated and investigated.  Please let me know of your suggestions and
I'll forward them to him.

Thanks