WASHING AN ALUMINIUM AIRCRAFT

[john ball]

What are the opinions on washing an Aluminium aircraft ( Vans RV6 ).
Are there chemicals in the usual car wash liquids you add to water, that are not good for corrosion etc. I am talking about the usual ones that you would buy at for example Halfords to wash a car. I have been using one that includes a wax in the wash.

As far as polishing is concerned I just use Autoglym, which I assume is OK.

[Vizsla]

Wasn't it 7Up or Coca Cola used on DC-3's

[BossEyed]

I use washing up liquid, and rinse off throughly.

DON'T use a pressure washer.

Be careful not to remove lubrication (grease etc) from flying controls.

Be very cautious - use only soft rag and water - for the perspex.

A fuel-wettened rag is useful for getting oil off the belly.

Insects on leading edges will come off easier if you wet them throughly and then leave for a few minutes before removing with soft rag and elbow grease.

[peterc005]

There are specialised detergents for washing aircraft. I think the idea is to avoid phosphates which may encourage corrosion in aluminium.

One I've seen advertised is "Aerolife Aircraft Cleaner & Belly Wash".

[Shoestring Flyer]

Do not use washing up liquid it has a salt content!

Just use the sort of stuff you would use on a car. Wash/wax stuff followed by a good polish, Autoglym, Mer, etc except as others have said I wouldn't recommend any form of pressure washing it will penetrate in too many crevises and stay there.

[A and C]

Shoestring is 100% correct NEVER use washing up liquid due to the salt content.

[jxk]

Agree don't use washing up liquid on your aircraft OR car. The paint shop who sprayed my aircraft said they were happy with the usual car shampoos.

And never use any ammonia based products on screens, they will turn 'milky'.

[BossEyed]

Oops. That's me educated. Thanks all.

The limited amount of detergent, coupled with copious rinsing, means I'm not that nervous that I've wrecked it.

[cct]

I always try to avoid getting oil on the belly!

[Stephen Furner]

My understanding is that it is the polish that is vital to protecting the exterior of an aircraft – or car for that matter – it keeps the paint supple and flexible and fills in any breaks in the paint layer that would let in water.

Where there has been a failure in the paint to protect aluminium water penetrates and corrosion appears. This looks like there are worms living between the paint and the aircraft skin. This filiform corrosion makes the paintwork look like it has worm tracks on it.

Talking to other pilots I often find Turtle Wax car polish recommended. For myself I prefer to use a specialist polish intended for aircraft. I believe an aircraft polish provides a tougher finish than a car polish and is intended to survive a harsher environment and less frequent application than a car polish.

For my old 172 frequent use of a bucket of clean cold water, a damp sponge or cloth and a Chamois/shammy leather – it’s not a real one but a fake for car cleaning from Halfords – keeps a shine and removes grime and squashed insects. Every couple of these is followed by a polish by hand with Flight Jacket Polish.

Periodically I give it a through wash using Zymol low temperature car wash and then rinse thoroughly using a hose. I get the oil and exhaust gas stains off with Flight Jacket Oil and Exhaust Remover since this seems to work well with their polish.

Plexus plastics cleaner works really well on the windows and interior plastics in the cabin; my impression is that it improves the optical properties of the windows, and when used in the cabin the labels and markings on the interior plastics are easier to read.

I keep mine outside so try and build up a thick layer of polish during the summer; this is to protect it through the winter when cleaning and polishing opportunities become less frequent.