General Care Products

[SkyKing]

Okay, some of you asked for a list of care products, so here's a general rundown:

For those of you with polished spinners, the best stuff is Mother's Aluminum Wax... ah, yes, you're gonna get your fingers/hands a little black, but WOW! With Mothers, just as soon as things feel ungritty and turn to black, that's when you stop and then buff out with a clean terry cloth. Do the spinner in 1/4 sections for best results.

For painted surfaces you just can't beat KIT Carnuba Wax in the 16oz yellow bottles (semi-liquid) available at Schuck's Automotive for about $3.49, and I think $2.75 at Wal-Mart for the semi-paste. Both work well, but I prefer the semi-liquid. This stuff works great for the windshield and side windows, inside and out. And as someone suggested, Lemon Pledge works well too, except you get a little residue like with Mirror Glaze if you don't buff it out well. The KIT Wax works best!

For tires and de-ice boots, for that 'showroom new' look, we use Son-Of-A-Gun to keep things like rubber and plastic shiny... and it also has some UV protection. Yes, if you put too much on the deice boots you'll get streaks in the rain. It doesn't take much to keep them looking new. Lemon Pledge also works very well for the boots. If anyone has used any of the commercially available de-ice boot preparations, let us know your experience.

For belly exhaust and any breather tube scum, we use Simple Green on a wet sponge, although it will etch aluminum if left on... it's not Mil spec'd for this reason, although you'd have to leave it on for a for a very l-o-n-g time and never rinse it off to really do any damage. You can also dilute it down to a milder mix ... read the bottle. After using Simple Green and a rinse-off with fresh water from a saturated sponge, towel dry and then apply a coat of KIT Wax.

Also, Simple Green works great for removing any grease spots on the carpets.

Brulin makes a product called AIRSHOW-W especially for cleaning exhaust and belly scum, but the only problem is if you get any of it in your eyes, it's off to the first-aid clinic.

For the door lift strut, for those of you with the clam-shell cabin doors (1973 and on) if it's making a creaking noise or getting stiff even with the knurled knob backed off, use a little silicone lube to make it slick. And if it's not kicking the upper-half door up like it should and seems weak, you'll need a strut pump to use with an air compressor to restore the required pressure to its nominal 700PSI. This is a DANGEROUS little item and you would do well to have your mechanic inspect the attachment fitting on the upper half of the door to make sure the bolt and clevis have complete integrity. It could easily punch a hole in the side of the aircraft or the side glass. Consult the Service Manual for specifics, but the 700 PSI operating pressure is from Cessna. The cylinder is proofed to 3000 PSI burst, but you shouldn't go over 900 PSI.

Like Larry, our hangar doesn't have running water, so we keep two or three jugs of water on hand, plus a bucket and sponges. Instead of dragging the hose out and getting everything wet, we usually use a bucket, a sponge, and a towel with a step-ladder. Afterall, airplanes don't get that dirty. But to each his own form of medicine. And a bottle of Dawn liquid soap or your own favorite for general clean-up of the pilot after the plane is ship-shape.

Oh, one last thing. After every flight, we take a few squirts of 30 weight oil on a clean rag and wipe down the props. This also removes the white exhaust streaks that accumulate on the rear prop and keeps everything shiny. It also removes grass and bug stains and keeps moisture out of the aluminum.

Hope all this helps.

SkyKing

[kevin]

Cleaning materials, this could be an interesting thread...

For the boots, I use a product similar to Armor All called 303. It keeps the boots in great shape, and also makes the ice just sliiiiiiiiiide right off...

For most of the airplane, I use this wax-on, wax-off stuff (think Karate Kid) called Supercoat. Both it and the 303 came from recommendations of my old mechanic, and work very well.

For getting the grease and exhaust off the belly, well, I used to wash airplanes professionally (I was 14, had a business, five kids working for me, no taxes, all cash, those were the days). The only thing that I am patient enough for is garden variety petroleum solvent on a rag. I use it to loosen everything up, then wash the belly with soap and water.

I had my airplane washed by the only FAA repair station that has aircraft washing on it's certificate (in Florida, very near southern tip but not the keys), and they put the official real deal stuff that Goodrich recommends (Agemaster, or whatever it's called) on my boots, and they looked VERY nice afterwards, so I'd recommend that if you can find some.

Kevin

[stackj]

I find good old WD-40 is great for getting that oil off the belly! WD-40, 3 or 4 good rags and about 15 minutes will clean it all off!

[Gord]

I use ZEP Aircraft Cleaner for the belly ( well OK, the kids use it). It costs $75.00 Canadian for a five gallon pail, lasts about a year, mixes 1:1 ZEP/water for dirty oily areas and up to 1:128 for bugs etc