From the beginning of my project to build a GlaStar seven years ago, I researched paint schemes and painters. The advice I received ran the gamut from doing it myself, auto paint shops to high end, high priced corporates. As I finished the build phase I still had not decided on a paint shop. That was until I saw the work of art done on Sportsman N899TR by BOSS Aircraft Refinishers. Wow! I signed a contract, sent a small deposit and entered into a relationship with BOSS that has been a total delight.
I gave BOSS Aircraft Refinishers owner Bill Lucey an estimate of when I could deliver the plane for painting. After several delays on my part I finally called with a delivery date request. Bill immediately honored the request and fit me in. I asked if they could finish in a month…they were done in two weeks even though they had five other planes in various stages of repair and paint. The results were stunning. They replaced dozens of aluminum screws with stainless steel and fitted nylon washers to protect the paint. They replaced cadmium quarter turns with stainless. They hand sanded, buffed and polished my aluminum door handles until they looked like silver. I sent an initial scheme to Bill and as it progressed he emailed photos of the taped mockup to me and his painters Mike and James (craftsmen and artists are better terms for these two) put together a flawless piece of work. When I flew home my hangar mates literally gave the plane a standing ovation. How sweet it is.
If you want to test the true character of a company, hang around for a few days and see how the team interacts and how they react to a customer who is looking over their shoulder. I flew commercial back to North Carolina to help reassemble the plane after painting. Bill offered to pick me up at Charlotte (an hour away). He assigned his IA, Tom, to help me reassemble my GlaStar. Tom is another man in the company who goes well beyond the call of duty. I planned to fly in, spend the night, reassemble the plane the next day and leave. The weather moved in and I spent five days on the ground. So, in this time Tom changed the oil and filter as well as doing all the really tough reassembly work…I let him bleed on the tough-to-reach safety wire jobs. Mike and James came over and repaired the scratches I made in reassembly. I used the airport courtesy car in the day and at the end of the day, Bill took me to local restaurants and then dropped me off and picked me up at my hotel to save me a rental car expense. What a great week! I arrived at Rowan County Airport with a scratched up aluminum and bondo fiberglass plane. I left with a sleek masterpiece and made four new friends whom I deeply admire for the pride they take in their work and their kindness and courtesy to me.
Thanks again guys! –John Eastabrooks
