From looking at the 1987 paint in the first picture above, you would think the plane looks pretty darn good the way it sits and looks and it does (after compounding and waxing with a buffer)   Reality says a different story. The white Imron is somewhat faded but not too bad with some nicks here and there and it should since we are talking 31 years since N16583 had any kind of paint work performed.

This plane was purchased 2003 and even then the paint was so-so, but the paint switch flipped after a two year airframe refurb / overhaul of the airframe that started in 2003 -  (any corrosion, all new interior, all service letters complied with, under rear seat strip and zinc chromate - copper battery cables, control cables, wing tip strobes, new wingtips, new cylinders, new mags, prop overhaul, and the list is very long including all 1/4 inch glass). When flying the plane I could feel flutter in the ailerons at maneuvering speed (129 mph) and sat often finger tapping my head saying "What the heck "(yes, cable tensions were correct and even with no loose hardware or hinges). So, out of the blue one day I decided to run my pinky fingernail down the leading edges of the wings and slightly above as well and as I continued this backyard type of troubleshooting something did not feel right as there was a certain amount of roughness which was irregular (should feel smooth and slicker than tap dancing shoes on a sheet of ice).

  The procedure was the same procedure across the ailerons and sure enough the roughness was there - kinda like super fine sandpaper (wet sanding paper). Then, the light bulb lit up like a strobe flash in your eyes - PARASITIC DRAG! Porosity (age and sun for three years under the S.W. skies not being hangered) in the paint causing the parasitic drag and irregular air flows over the control surfaces. I sat there just shaking my head at the time and knew my work was cut out for me.

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