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Waterless Cleaning / Waxing

P

pvalovich

Well Known Member
This subject has been addressed before but I can't find anything using the Search engine.

Oil leak on a cross-threaded replacement oil pressure line (life is indeed harder when you're stupid) caused a messy oil loss during test run up that requires a major cleanup / waxing of fuselage and left wing.

Numerous VAF members have posted recommendations for waterless cleaning / waxing products.

Can any of you who have favorite products repost - or direct me to your original thread?

Thanks
Paul Valovich
-8A N192NM 1280 hrs.
 
Belly Soap is the best thing I have found for removing oil on the belly. Spray and wipe - easy peasy. ACS has it. I use a spray-on wax that Van’s uses on their display aircraft, because it is fast and doesn’t leave any residue around rivets, etc. It is called “Best in Show” from Griot’s Garage, but is available elsewhere. :cool:
 
Coleman fuel (white gas) and blue paper shop towels to get the actual oil off, then Wash-Wax-All and rags to do final cleaning and waxing - that’s what we do in our house.

Paul
 
Aircraft Cleaning

Thanks for the replies. I have a variety of cleaning products in my hanger at IYK CA, but can't remember what they are. The plane is hangared at AFJ (Washington County PA) for the winter with me. Almost like starting over - especially when I realize the manuals/documents/materials I brought to PA are not what's really needed.
 
I've found that the waterless products, regardless of brand, all work as advertised except that they aren't good for grease & oil. Like Paul, I use a separate degreaser for oily areas followed by the waterless wash/wax.
 
Thread drift

That's why I use Coleman fuel for final clean prior to Proseal of fuel tank build/repair. Coleman fuel should be in everyone's cabinet for these reasons.
 
I use GUNK engine degreaser. Spray directly on, or spray on a rag and wipe on.
Rinse with water.... spray or wipe off with a damp cloth. under $4.00

Also,spray any dirty spot on your motor and rinse with a spray bottle.
Big areas, rinse with a weed sprayer. It is water soluble.
gunk.JPG
 
Avgas to get the oil off then carbon x degreaser and corrosion protectant. Be careful with engine degreaser or anything like purple power it will corrode your aluminum especially if it’s thin sheet metal.
 
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Coleman fuel = Naptha = charcoal lighter fluid, i.e Kingsford on your grocery store shelf.
All just a mild solvent handy for degreasing.
 
Tub-O-Towels

My current hanger doesn't have water so I picked up a Tub-O-Towels just to clean my hands. They can be found at most Auto Supply stores and many big box stores.

One day it struck me that these might work to clean the belly of the plane. They work great! Easy to use and no harsh solvents. This is all I use any more to remove grease.

I even brought the almost empty tub to Osh last year.

I still use Wash & Wax all in a spray bottle for the Wings, Tail and Fuselage.
 
Cleaner

I use Protect All. Cleans and leaves a nice shine, bugs also come off easier. Use it on the front of my motothome and bugs come off.
 
I've just been through this...looking for the best way to minimize the amount of time I spend lying on a creeper. I've been using a pressure washer with foam gun using Simple Green airplane wash. After foaming and letting it percolate for a bit, I use an extension car wash brush to scrub, then rinse at a distance with the pressure washer (upside-down floor sprayer for the underside. For final finish, I use hand-applied Rejex and there's no good way to use that on the belly without the creeper, but at least I don't have water and soap, or noxious solvents, dripping on me.

I don't have water in the hangar either, so use a 55 gallon drum in the bed of my pickup to supply the pressure head for the pressure washer. The whole portable wash setup cost me about $125.

..
 

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fl-mike said:
Coleman fuel = Naptha = charcoal lighter fluid, i.e Kingsford on your grocery store shelf.
All just a mild solvent handy for degreasing.
Click to expand...

Coleman Fuel and white gas are the same. Naptha is more of a generic term, but the naptha you may find is the paint department is a little different from white gas, but pretty similar chemically. Paint thinner, mineral spirits, and charcoal lighter fluid are all the same thing, but significantly different from white gas. Coleman fuel/white gas is probably best in this application because it has the highest purity and will not leave behind any residue.
I once almost bought a pint of water tank sterilizer for a recreational vehicle (the other RV) for $15. I read the ingredients and realized this was a huge rip-off...it was just sodium hypochlorite, aka household bleach!
 
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Nice setup, Mac! I'm searching Amazon for airplane belly washers right now :D

I sprang for an AeroCreeper and it's nice, but I still hate spending any time on it if liquids are involved.

ETA: I just checked prices on Justrite plunger cans. Think I'll go be poor somewhere else.

https://imgflip.com/i/7whsry
 
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Bill Boyd said:
Nice setup, Mac! I'm searching Amazon for airplane belly washers right now :D

I sprang for an AeroCreeper and it's nice, but I still hate spending any time on it if liquids are involved.
Click to expand...

That thing exceeded my expectations. As a bonus, if you flip it over, it sprays downward and work as a sort of "water broom". I'm anticipating it will be useful for garage floor winter washing of the melting-ice runoff.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0878QXTX7?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details&th=1
 
+1 for Coleman fuel. That stuff is mild and cleans well.

However, recently I found that isopropanol (99% isopropyl alcohol) does a great job of cleaning the belly of lead deposits and light oil film, even better than Coleman fuel.
 
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