Does Simple Green remove CorrosionX completely?

If not, what does?

"Completely" as in, for paint to not come undone.

Not likely

Simple green leaves a film, and not good on bare aluminum !..not really a good paint prep at all. To remove any corrosion inhibitor, it will take Acetone, MEK or my personal favorite, Coleman lantern fuel. ANY trace of corrosion preventative, which is a deep penetrating compound will need flushed from the fastener/joint interface to keep it from migrating out. I also use Fluid Resistant primer (Known as FR primer in the big jet business) to minimize the chance of any trapped stuff from seeping out under your new paint. Others may recommend some good sealers and processes, but be thorough with what ever path you take.

I re-painted the HS on my C-152. I had the plane treated with Corrosion-X 2 years prior and that stuff never stopped weeping and stinking up the cockpit! After removal of the HS, I sprayed down the inside of the HS with SuperClean degreaser https://www.zoro.com/superclean-cle...MIzPb2gNGM2gIVx7rACh2tuQzlEAYYASABEgKW0vD_BwE using a pump-up sprayer and let it work a few minutes before flushing it thoroughly with the garden hose. I did this SEVERAL times, inside and outside. I then hit all the skin joints with the air hose to blow the skin joints and rivets out. Then put some acetone in the sprayer and did it again with that a couple times. When I was sure all the Corrosion-X was gone, I aluma-prepped the HS and treated it with alodine. It took real good both inside and outside the HS. One last wash with acetone and a high pressure blowout with the air hose, then a wipe down with pre-paint wax remover, and I got it painted with excellent results. Dealing with the stink and never ending weeping mess from Corrosion-X convinced me to never use that stuff again.

Not at the hangar now to double check, but plain old Simple Green is not, I believe, to be used on aluminum. There is a Simple Green Aircraft that is okay.

Concur with Ed W.

The US Army had corrosion problems with their helicopters due to the use of Simple Green. Simple Green Aircraft was developed as a result.

Cheers, David
RV-6A A&P

fixnflyguy said:

To remove any corrosion inhibitor, it will take Acetone, MEK or my personal favorite, Coleman lantern fuel.

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The trouble with acetone is that, while it does dissolve most oils readily, it also evaporates rapidly leaving behind all those oils chemically unaltered. It can make cleanup much more difficult by spreading local contamination everywhere into a thin film. Lantern fuel works a little better because it evaporates slower, leaving more time to diffuse the contaminants into the rag.

Purpose-mixed degreasers also contain surfactants, which chemically alter oils to make them water-soluble. Now, theoretically, rinsing with 10 gallons of acetone will achieve the same level of cleanliness as rinsing with 10 gallons of water after surfactant treatment, but one of these approaches is way cheaper than the other.

fixnflyguy said:

Simple green leaves a film, and not good on bare aluminum !..not really a good paint prep at all.

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True, the walmart version does contain fragrance and colorant, which may be the film you are referring to. The "aviation" version sold at Spruce does not, and should not leave residue.

The "unsafe for aluminum" part comes from the presence of phosphate (tetrapotassium pyrophosphate) which will etch aluminum (and calcium, and magnesium, and concrete) given enough time or repeated application, but so will Pepsi Cola. The "aircraft" version has one fifth the phosphate concentration compared to household version, according to the SDS. One of the steps in paint prep is etching away the top layer of aluminum oxide, so this chemical action seems aligned with the goal.

I suppose I should rephrase my question: do modern corrosion inhibitors contain any components, such as silicones, that are NOT lifted by Simple Green, SuperClean and similar degreasers.