Cleaners and Polish For Fabric Covered Pipers

[pinkgas]

Dishwashing soap is just detergent, many with a grease cutter added. No solvents that would damage paint or dope. Remember, the thing is meant to get wet. I would think that the bigger concern would be abrasion, so use something soft.

[mmoyle]

Joy is great stuff. Anionic/Ionic surfactants no caustics.


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[Dwain]

After I wash my plane with Dawn and a soft sponge (I use the cheap soft sponges because I throw the ones I use on the belly away pretty often), I spray the leading edges of the wings and elevator with lemon pledge (cheap by the case from the dollar general store) and wipe over them with paper towels. Bugs just wipe off as long as you re apply the pledge. - Dwain

[mmoyle]

The former owner of my Pacer used lemon pledge on all the exterior surfaces x 19 years. He carried a bath towel for the fuselage and a hand towel on the windshield which was crystal clear. 1980 recover. By Alaskan standards the fabric/paint was in very good condition. Sheet metal paint not so good....pealed off in sheets, probably due to flying when the temperature was minus 25F. I'll probably continue with the pledge only cleaning method after recover and enough time has past as not to consider the paint green. Almost done with the remodel job on PC Co. Installed the computer system and credit debit machine yesterday. Grand re-opening June first... I hope. The store was shut down in 1991.
Mark M.






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[rocket]

Wash?

You guys wash your airplanes? The shiny black Ditzler on the bat plane looks shiny because I never touch it.

I think rubbing a fabric airplane other then occasionally can lead to cracking and ringworm. I think hosing off with fresh water or bolting a set of floats on the bottom to be the best practice...

I told a couple people who were looking for me at Valdez that I was flying the ugly 182 with mud on the bottom of the wings.

Rocket

[Steve Pierce]

I usually use car wash soap but my daughter was washing a pretty grungy airplane the other day and used the Joy dishwashing soap. She said it really cut the grungie stuff better than the car wash soap. I also merged this thread with an older one on the subject.

[bigjohnnie]

Joy dish washing liquid is pretty gentle and yet strong stuff. When I was a teen, my hair was so thick with natural oils that my barber recommend to my mom I use it to wash my hair. Oil problem cured. Used it every day for ten years. Didn't bother my scalp or skin. I 'm 57 and still have all my hair! I don't use it anymore 'cause I don't need it. I never thought of using it on my tripe. But I will now. My bird was painted with aero thane, and it's the wax I'm not sure about.

[mmoyle]

Joy will remove carnauba wax, turtle wax and that other stuff..rain-x or some thing? Joy works well because it will break weak ionic bonds. Wax will wash off eventually because it has a stronger ionic bond to the paint than grease and oil. Car wash soap is wax friendly and doesn't cut grease well due to weaker surfactants


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[gliderman]

They use Joy to clean up oil soaked birds and animals after an oil spill
Should be great for our "birds "

[pa20]

I use a quality car wash detergent for the overall wash. On the belly, I use plain old stoddard solvent. When I polished my Pacer a few years ago, I used "Finesse" by 3M. Very light polishing compound, applied with a Cyclo buffer and a very light touch. My wax of choice is Race Glaze, easy to apply and remove and no silicones.