scooter2525
Very well Member
What do you guys use to mirror finish a spinner?
Aircraft cleaning/detailing
- Thread starter kiloalpha
- Start date
swisspilot
Well-Known Member
We operate airplanes out of Dirt strips in very salty environment, with lots of Mud and Cow Dung around, we get lots of exposed aluminium due to pieces of dead coral and little rocks hitting the plane on landings and t/os. We wash the planes after each flight. So does the main airline here.
The best cleaning stuff, after trying about 5 of the most acclaimed ended up being Simple Green (Aviation), that stuff is just awesome, the Lycoming engine on the C206 drains out a lot more oil then the Cont does, the Pod traps most of it, we just use plain Simple Green, get the area wet, spray on it and wipe it off rigth away, then just wash down the area with the less concentrate solution made for the rest of the plane.
Somebody said simple green will protect exposed aluminium, it does not, we can prove it...when the plane gets in the shop for the 50 hourly, we paper sand the areas a bit, put some ALODINE and then just spray some yellow TEMPO ZINC PHOSPHATE PRIMER, we leave it like that, unless you cna do the job right it`s better to leave just the primer...for the steel areas (landing gear) we use marine products, we tried the approved and suggested FAA/Cessna products, nothing works here, right now I can`t remeber the name of the product we use, but it`s made by INTERNATIONAL MARINE and comes in brown color only.
Tip when suing the TEMPO PRIMER: don not spray straight on the plane, unless you have the patience to put paint tape and newspaper all over, just spray some in the cap and use a small brush to apply.
DO NOT USE THE TEMPO PRIMER ON STEEL
For bugs, here when we land in 1 1/2 feet of grass the plane gets covered in bugs, we use this cloth made to clean tupperware, it`s made of nylon, use it with warm soapy water (Simple Green) everything comes off, I met bush pilots that treat those areas with PAM before they fly...for some reason we don`t get bugs on the windshiled in the 206, but to clean that we use warm water with hand soap, and your bare ends to rub. DO NOT USE WOOD FURNITURE SPRAY! A bush pilot over here, with 16K hours of bush flying told me to use this product made by LoPresti, you spray it on the wings to make the plane go faster
, he uses it on the windows with a microfiber cloth, swears on it.
With the time bugs will damage your paint, 3M makes some pretty expensive aviation tapes, I think they are originally made for the Helicopter`s rotor blades, they have different sizes 2-4-6", come clear or balck, you put it on the leading edges...works well
DO NOT USE THIS TAPE ON STEEL, we found out that steel paint needs to breathe...to protect the landing gear we put HOCKEY TAPE
For the interior, we have tried so much stuff, for the seats we use PERRONE LEATHER CLEANER , it`s the same product used on airliners, it`s amazing, DO NOT USE ALCOHOL since many newer leather setas have parts that are not made of leather and they will discolor
I clean the Prop Spinner with the finest steel wool I can find. I tried everysingle product that A Spruce sells, none has worked as well as just a wte soapy fine steel wool.
Something I haven`t figure out yet is how to remove mold from Marker beacon, ELT, NDB and GPS Antennas
DO NOT USE AVGAS! get some rubbing petrol that is not dyed, the one for the ZIPPO is awesome.
To treat any exposed part use CORROSION X.
When buying this products get them in the trigger spray form, they offer the best value and your money will last longer then with spray cans....WD40 works also a lot better in the non pressure can form, less messy to apply.
The best stuff out there is called Ballistol, get it at a gun shop, you can coat stuff with it and it`s pretty natural compared to WD40 and CORROSION X, don`t get this last one on your clothes or hands!
When treating stuff your airplane unfortunately will trap more dirt too.
Alex
The best cleaning stuff, after trying about 5 of the most acclaimed ended up being Simple Green (Aviation), that stuff is just awesome, the Lycoming engine on the C206 drains out a lot more oil then the Cont does, the Pod traps most of it, we just use plain Simple Green, get the area wet, spray on it and wipe it off rigth away, then just wash down the area with the less concentrate solution made for the rest of the plane.
Somebody said simple green will protect exposed aluminium, it does not, we can prove it...when the plane gets in the shop for the 50 hourly, we paper sand the areas a bit, put some ALODINE and then just spray some yellow TEMPO ZINC PHOSPHATE PRIMER, we leave it like that, unless you cna do the job right it`s better to leave just the primer...for the steel areas (landing gear) we use marine products, we tried the approved and suggested FAA/Cessna products, nothing works here, right now I can`t remeber the name of the product we use, but it`s made by INTERNATIONAL MARINE and comes in brown color only.
Tip when suing the TEMPO PRIMER: don not spray straight on the plane, unless you have the patience to put paint tape and newspaper all over, just spray some in the cap and use a small brush to apply.
DO NOT USE THE TEMPO PRIMER ON STEEL
For bugs, here when we land in 1 1/2 feet of grass the plane gets covered in bugs, we use this cloth made to clean tupperware, it`s made of nylon, use it with warm soapy water (Simple Green) everything comes off, I met bush pilots that treat those areas with PAM before they fly...for some reason we don`t get bugs on the windshiled in the 206, but to clean that we use warm water with hand soap, and your bare ends to rub. DO NOT USE WOOD FURNITURE SPRAY! A bush pilot over here, with 16K hours of bush flying told me to use this product made by LoPresti, you spray it on the wings to make the plane go faster
, he uses it on the windows with a microfiber cloth, swears on it.With the time bugs will damage your paint, 3M makes some pretty expensive aviation tapes, I think they are originally made for the Helicopter`s rotor blades, they have different sizes 2-4-6", come clear or balck, you put it on the leading edges...works well
DO NOT USE THIS TAPE ON STEEL, we found out that steel paint needs to breathe...to protect the landing gear we put HOCKEY TAPE
For the interior, we have tried so much stuff, for the seats we use PERRONE LEATHER CLEANER , it`s the same product used on airliners, it`s amazing, DO NOT USE ALCOHOL since many newer leather setas have parts that are not made of leather and they will discolor
I clean the Prop Spinner with the finest steel wool I can find. I tried everysingle product that A Spruce sells, none has worked as well as just a wte soapy fine steel wool.
Something I haven`t figure out yet is how to remove mold from Marker beacon, ELT, NDB and GPS Antennas
DO NOT USE AVGAS! get some rubbing petrol that is not dyed, the one for the ZIPPO is awesome.
To treat any exposed part use CORROSION X.
When buying this products get them in the trigger spray form, they offer the best value and your money will last longer then with spray cans....WD40 works also a lot better in the non pressure can form, less messy to apply.
The best stuff out there is called Ballistol, get it at a gun shop, you can coat stuff with it and it`s pretty natural compared to WD40 and CORROSION X, don`t get this last one on your clothes or hands!
When treating stuff your airplane unfortunately will trap more dirt too.
Alex
swisspilot
Well-Known Member
That`s how the plane looks after a day of flying:
and the C207
and the C207
scooter2525
Very well Member
Great post swisspilot ! Does the steel wool just clean the spinner or give it that show worthy shine?
Pilotforhire587
Lycra Man
+1 for simple green. RUby red works great too! But I don't think you can buy that in small quantities, just 50 gallon drums.
swisspilot
Well-Known Member
It cleans it and removes corrosion, you do need to get a very fine one, almost something you would rub your face with...to finish it up just use a product for chromed stuff.
JaceTheAce
Well-Known Member
Oil Eater from Costco is probably one of the best products available for cutting oil/grease. It's also sold at O'Reilly's. This is the stuff I used when I detailed cars. It works best on wheels, tires, and wheel wells.
n57flyguy
Well-Known Member
Nuvite. I don't use anything else.
n57flyguy
Well-Known Member
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Attachments
n57flyguy
Well-Known Member
DO NOT do this. If you are...stop!
swisspilot
Well-Known Member
I should add that if your spinner is new or looks like yours but with finger grease on it, yes it`s not a good idea..but if it needs to be cleaned becasue of corrosion and not to be an hangar queen it works, it will look like “bare metal silver” more then a mirror..
n57flyguy
Well-Known Member
It does more harm than good. Most spinners are aluminum...if not all of them (well some plastic and coated to give the appearance of aluminum). Steel and aluminum are dissimilar metals, steel wool dust will accumulate in the pores of the aluminum leaving black spots and further exposure to the elements leading to corrosion. If you're taking serious abrasives to aluminum, it had better need them.
scooter2525
Very well Member
Apply by hand or a polisher, like a cone?
scotland laddy
Well-Known Member
There is a company called AeroGloss. It is a wax/cleaner. It is also military and boeing spec approved.
You can also use Carbon X, this is a degreaser and works great on the belly of an aircraft and can also remove bugs (also military and boeing approved).
I used these products all the time as an aircraft detailer for my last company. I was able to get an airplane washed, degreased and waxed within two hours with the use of these products.
You can also use Carbon X, this is a degreaser and works great on the belly of an aircraft and can also remove bugs (also military and boeing approved).
I used these products all the time as an aircraft detailer for my last company. I was able to get an airplane washed, degreased and waxed within two hours with the use of these products.
n57flyguy
Well-Known Member
Usually by using both, depends on how large the spinner is and how dirty it is.
TUCKnTRUCK
That guy
to clarify the simple green anti corrosion statement, regular simple green can stain, and or dammage bare aluminum if you leave it on for too long. the aviation brand is not supposed to do this.... beyond that it is only a cleaner, no protections given sorry if tgat was misleadibg above...
LatitudeDancer
Well-Known Member
I used to use a spray can called something like "sur-klean" for the oil on the belly. Couldn't find it and figured out "CRAZY CLEAN" is pretty much the same stuff:
http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/cspages/crazyclean.php
Spray it on about a 2'x2' area, give the foam a few seconds to work, and wipe it up with a shop rag/paper towel before it dries and keep on cleaning down the belly.
I've tried mineral spirits, simple green, 100LL, etc and they all just kinda work compared to this stuff which works really well for me.
http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/cspages/crazyclean.php
Spray it on about a 2'x2' area, give the foam a few seconds to work, and wipe it up with a shop rag/paper towel before it dries and keep on cleaning down the belly.
I've tried mineral spirits, simple green, 100LL, etc and they all just kinda work compared to this stuff which works really well for me.