Warbird Information Exchange

I think silver paint never looks correct especially in the historical context of a museum aircraft. Just my opinion...

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It may not look 100% correct however I think when the skin is in the condition it is in you have to make some sort of compromise. Either:

1)re-skin the aircraft and destroy most of the original parts of the fuselage

2)replace only what you need to and display it in natural metal, but patchy looking.

3)coat it in the paint that most closely matches the original colors

4)use a paint scheme that is drastically different from the original however correct for another aircraft of that type.

I personally feel like 2 is the most honest for a true "artifact" type of restoration and unless it was hideous would have gone that route. There were plenty of patched up mismatched aluminum bombers during the war.

3 is the next best in my opinion as it still represents the original look of the aircraft. 4 was the option that they took and while I think it looks good in OD I just feel like it takes away from the authenticity. It is an opinion of course but I'm happy it is restored and inside which is the most important part.

I like option #2. If you can't polish it up, then leave it natural metal unpolished. Painting it silver never looks right.

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"Everyone wants to live here (New Jersey), evidenced by the fact that it has the highest population per capita in the U.S..."