I found last summer that a little shot of Prist on the leading edge, one swipe, and presto.....all the Alaskan bugs are gone and the leading edge is shinning. Also evaporates with zero residue. I use it on the windshield, the leading edges and the prop blades......good stuff.

I have used some stuff fron the Dollar Store here called "Totally Awsome Cleaner". Use the Yellow stuff not the orange. Stuff is amazing! I can clean the entire bottom of a planes with it and it and about 5 paper towels. It just melts grease and oil. What drips off is a grey milky liquid. As for washing, I like to fly in the rain myself.

All this talk about washing airplanes I decided to take advantage of the 60° CO day and wash mine (it was getting pretty muddy from winter).

I used RainX wash and wax from WalMart with a shammy. I have to say it's as shinny as I've seen this 20 year old paint job. Going to add the lysol to the leading edges as well.



I think it flys 10 kts faster too.

These two work pretty cheap, at least for a few more years.

Flynengr

For really stubborn exhaust and oil stains, I've used "Soft Scrub" for years. Any supermarket carries it, it doesn't seem to hurt the finish, at least the Poly Tone I have. I'm always surprised how long it takes to wash an airplane as compared to a car, but once you figure there is a lot more surface area then a car (a buddy who paints cars did a plane for me once, he was impressed with the sheer surface area on even a light plane), it makes sense. Trucks stops sell lots of trick washing aids for the big rigs, I love my extendable handle brush. It's kind of fun to bitch about, like how much work it is mowing the runway, we are lucky bastards! I wash mine only before attending major fly-ins, its a lost cause the rest of the time.

denalipilot wrote:

RobBurson wrote:I don't like washing in the direct sun in the summer.

Yeah- streaks. I've thought about washing the plane during a heavy rain, but I can't say I've ever motivated to do it

Before we invested in the DI Tanks, I used to try and wash my racing transporter in the rain if I was back east where you get the CLEAN rain. Always was spotless after your done washing before the rain stopped.

It's raining pretty good here this morning.Maybe roll the plane out and rinse it.I have done this before.saves a lot o time.

Bill

Dope over Ceconite.

For the full wash I use gentle tap water from a hose to rinse it down and get the dirt wet. I then use some non-wax Turtle car soap and a very soft bristle brush with a telescoping handle and gently rub down the plane. Rinse with a low pressure stream from the hose.

I wax it with Mothers Carnauba wax. This helps a lot during the cleaning process and gets the encrusted bug guts off of the wing leading edge.

For the spot clean up after a flight I use a clean terry cloth rag and a spray bottle. The bottle has water and a few drops of plain old dish soap (not automatic dish washer detergent).

Does Mother ever wonder where all her Carnuba Wax is going?