1126 Queen's Highway, Long Beach, Ca. 90802 (800) 437-2934
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Queen Mary Smokestacks (Funnels) RepaintedOriginal Cunard Red
October 13, 1996 was the start of the painting project returning the Queen Mary's three smokestacks to their unique "Cunard Red" color. A new contractor and paint were employed to extend the longevity of the color.
It was no small task to build the scaffolding around the smokestacks with the painters in harnesses sitting on suspended swings. Actual measure of the three stacks is: forward, 70.5 feet, sloping back to the middle stack at 67.5 feet, and the aft smokestack is 62.25 feet.
Before painting, the surface of the stacks was abraded to promote adhesion, and then two coats of paint were applied by brush and roller. For Queen Mary passenger safety, the contractor applied the paint with rollers rather than the usual spraying method. The project was completed in December.
The "Cunard Red" color has an interesting history. In the 1830s, Robert Napier, a British shipping engineer who improved and developed the steamships that would become the first of the Cunard line, was faced with a dilemma. The heat in the smokestacks reached such high temperatures that conventional paints of the day would bubble and peal off. The painters developed a clever solution. A mixture of bright ochre and buttermilk was applied. With the heat of the smokestacks, the paint mixture literally "cooked" onto the stacks and stayed put. The resulting orange/red color, accented with a broad black band at the top of each stack and black lines on the flanges, was to become Napier's trademark and, later, the identifying mark of all Cunard liners. The tradition remained, even though paint manufacturers had discovered a way to delete the buttermilk from the formula long before the Queen Mary was launched!
Teak Deck Restoration Project
One of the first restoration projects begun by the Queen Mary was the restoration of the teak deck. Following a year of testing possible methods for the work, the project began on the port side of Sun Deck in October of 1995.
A special crew of company engineers removed the teak planks (which average 2" in thickness) from the deck, and the usable pieces were split in half, sized and prepared for re-use. It took a little over 1 1/2 years, and $675,000.00, to complete the port side of Sun Deck.
Work then commenced on the Sports Deck in June 1997, and this entire area was finished in a year. The 20,125 square feet of teak deck restored to date has a price tag of $898,000.00!
Then work began on the starboard side side of Sun Deck. Beginning first at the aft of the ship, engineers completed the stern of the Sun Deck, which included the stairway and the area adjacent to the beautiful Verandah Grill.
Verandah Grill
By far, the Verandah is the most dramatic of our restoration projects. When the Queen Mary was retrofitted by the City of Long Beach in 1967, the former Starlight Nightclub AKA Verandah Grill was turned into a fast foods hamburger and hot dog outlet to better serve the expected tourists. Today the Sun Deck Deli is ready, willing and more than able to serve these guests, and the Verandah has returned to the elegant ambiance of the 1930s and 1940s.
Because Sir Winston's, the five-star restaurant, is immediately above the Verandah Grill, it was decided to maintain the Verandah Grill as a venue for catered events only. While major work has been completed, more is needed.
The beautiful balustrade was replicated out of wood by the Queen Mary's own carpenters so that the original etched glass pieces could be reinstalled. The original metal balustrade has never surfaced, and we are still looking for the original plans to eventually replicate the balustrade in metal.
Queen Mary Smokestacks (Funnels) RepaintedOriginal Cunard Red
October 13, 1996 was the start of the painting project returning the Queen Mary's three smokestacks to their unique "Cunard Red" color. A new contractor and paint were employed to extend the longevity of the color.
It was no small task to build the scaffolding around the smokestacks with the painters in harnesses sitting on suspended swings. Actual measure of the three stacks is: forward, 70.5 feet, sloping back to the middle stack at 67.5 feet, and the aft smokestack is 62.25 feet.
Before painting, the surface of the stacks was abraded to promote adhesion, and then two coats of paint were applied by brush and roller. For Queen Mary passenger safety, the contractor applied the paint with rollers rather than the usual spraying method. The project was completed in December.
The "Cunard Red" color has an interesting history. In the 1830s, Robert Napier, a British shipping engineer who improved and developed the steamships that would become the first of the Cunard line, was faced with a dilemma. The heat in the smokestacks reached such high temperatures that conventional paints of the day would bubble and peal off. The painters developed a clever solution. A mixture of bright ochre and buttermilk was applied. With the heat of the smokestacks, the paint mixture literally "cooked" onto the stacks and stayed put. The resulting orange/red color, accented with a broad black band at the top of each stack and black lines on the flanges, was to become Napier's trademark and, later, the identifying mark of all Cunard liners. The tradition remained, even though paint manufacturers had discovered a way to delete the buttermilk from the formula long before the Queen Mary was launched!
Teak Deck Restoration Project
One of the first restoration projects begun by the Queen Mary was the restoration of the teak deck. Following a year of testing possible methods for the work, the project began on the port side of Sun Deck in October of 1995.
A special crew of company engineers removed the teak planks (which average 2" in thickness) from the deck, and the usable pieces were split in half, sized and prepared for re-use. It took a little over 1 1/2 years, and $675,000.00, to complete the port side of Sun Deck.
Work then commenced on the Sports Deck in June 1997, and this entire area was finished in a year. The 20,125 square feet of teak deck restored to date has a price tag of $898,000.00!
Then work began on the starboard side side of Sun Deck. Beginning first at the aft of the ship, engineers completed the stern of the Sun Deck, which included the stairway and the area adjacent to the beautiful Verandah Grill.
Verandah Grill
By far, the Verandah is the most dramatic of our restoration projects. When the Queen Mary was retrofitted by the City of Long Beach in 1967, the former Starlight Nightclub AKA Verandah Grill was turned into a fast foods hamburger and hot dog outlet to better serve the expected tourists. Today the Sun Deck Deli is ready, willing and more than able to serve these guests, and the Verandah has returned to the elegant ambiance of the 1930s and 1940s.
Because Sir Winston's, the five-star restaurant, is immediately above the Verandah Grill, it was decided to maintain the Verandah Grill as a venue for catered events only. While major work has been completed, more is needed.
The beautiful balustrade was replicated out of wood by the Queen Mary's own carpenters so that the original etched glass pieces could be reinstalled. The original metal balustrade has never surfaced, and we are still looking for the original plans to eventually replicate the balustrade in metal.
