For the loyal straight tail 172 owners out there, here is my 57 restoration in progress.

10/30/03

Here is a photo documentary of original 172 straight tail paint schemes from 1956-1959. I put this together to help understand the original color schemes for my 57. Much thanks to Stan Cooper for his collection of Cessna factory brochures.

This is a scan from the Cessna brochure of a 1956 172. 56’ factory accent colors were Scandia Blue (shown in attached scan), Cardinal Red, Burma Gold, and Strato Blue.

Photo 1: 1956 Cessna 172 brochure

Here is a modified version of the original scheme in photo 1 using later Cessna colors with the entire aircraft being covered with white. N5148A is registered as a 1956. I took this photo at Oshkosh 2003.

Photo 2: 1956 172 with modified version of original scheme

This is a scan from the Cessna brochure of a 1957 172. '57 factory accent colors were Strato Blue (shown in the brochure), Cardinal Red, and Persian Maroon.

Photo 3: 1957 Cessna 172 brochure

N7252A is a nice example of a restored 1957 172 owned by Jim Landers. It is registered as a 1956 model but actually a 1957 model. It has an original paint scheme with polished aluminum.

Photo 4: Jim Landers 57’ 172 polished

Another view of Jim Landers polished 57’ 172.

Photo 5: Jim Landers polished 57' front

This is a scan from the Cessna brochure of a 1958 172.

Photo 6: 1958 Cessna 172 brochure

Here is a modified version of a 58’ color scheme using full coverage paint. I took this photo at Oshkosh 2003.

Photo 7: Modified 58’ paint scheme

This is a scan from the Cessna brochure of a 1959 172. 59’ factory accent colors were Crimson Red, Colonial Blue, Mahogany Brown, Paris Black, Danmask Red, Forest Green and Terra Cotta Brown.

Photo 8: 1959 Cessna 172 brochure

Here is a beautifully restored original 59’ owned by Lee OFarrell. This green was an original Cessna color in 59.

Photo 9: Lee OFarrell's 1959 172

9/15/03

Photo of the pilots rear door frame untouched from original state.

www.rob.com/matt/172/data_original.jpg

Photo of the pilots rear door frame after paint.

www.rob.com/matt/172/data_paint.jpg

9/15/03

Photo of the interior fuselage area pretty much untouched from original state.

www.rob.com/matt/172/Fuse_original.jpg

Photo of the interior fuselage after corrosion removal, paint stripping and insulation removal and insulation adhesive.

www.rob.com/matt/172/Fuse_clean.jpg

Photo of the interior fuselage area after primer and paint.

www.rob.com/matt/172/Fuse_paint.jpg

9/15/03

Photo of the panel area pretty much untouched from original state.

www.rob.com/matt/172/panel_original.jpg

Photo of panel area after corrosion removal, paint stripping and insulation removal.

www.rob.com/matt/172/panel_clean.jpg

Photo of panel area after primer and paint. Original interior off white (egg shell?) over self etch primer. Test fit of powder coated pedals, flap lever, trim housing, etc.

www.rob.com/matt/172/panel_paint.jpg

9/15/03

Photos of interior being painted.

www.rob.com/matt/172/paint