Thoughts on Weathering....

[Lucky13]

 

[stona]

His Tempest wasn't finished in High Speed Silver which was introduced in 1949, consisting of a multi part finish, a pigmented synthetic resin applied directly to the metal, a filler, then a finishing coat which was polished twice, first with a cutting compound followed by a liquid polish. It is a common mistake to equate High Speed Silver with the aluminium dope that had been applied to British aircraft from pre-war years. It is one of those errors which is constantly reinforced by repetition, as in the video above. It is a "complex story", but has nothing to do with High Speed Silver.

His post war Tempest was finished in an earlier aluminium coloured scheme which was deemed unsuitable for high speed aircraft, really meaning jets, hence the introduction of the new scheme in 1949.

I'm not sure that the aluminium finish was applied over the original camouflage either, but I could be wrong.

Cheers

Steve

 

[Robert Porter]

Stona not sure what exactly you are saying. You said "His Tempest wasn't finished in High Speed Silver" are you referring to his actual subject or to his paint job?

 

[stona]

He said that immediately after the war the RAF issued directives to paint all their aircraft in what was called RAF High Speed Silver. They didn't. High Speed Silver didn't exist immediately after the war.
The aluminium lacquer to which he referred was applied to aircraft immediately after the war, but it was NOT High Speed Silver.
Cheers
Steve

 

[Robert Porter]

Thanks Steve, I was not sure what you meant and I wanted to understand it. As I understand it so called High Speed Silver was prevalent late 40's to mid 50's and then was superseded by other colors and finishes.