Haha! Great!!

BRD wrote:wait for this:
(images snipped)
then wash airplanes...

Whose red Bush Hawk is that, BRD?

After sitting in the hangar for more than 3 years untouched. I've recently started to clean the dust off and started to give her a wax job.

Nice!

Looking good Pat!

Thanks! I know when it comes to the underside, I'm going to be thinking..... "What the heck am I thinking?!?"
But, I figured if I an wash, wax and polish an 80 foot race hauler a few times a year, this plane should be a piece of cake.
I'm just using whatever wax products I have on the shelf in my hangar and garage for now.

58Skylane wrote:Thanks! I know when it comes to the underside, I'm going to be thinking..... "What the heck am I thinking?!?"
But, I figured if I an wash, wax and polish an 80 foot race hauler a few times a year, this plane should be a piece of cake.

We make a product called Buddha Belly that was designed for cleaning undersides of airplanes. We make a modern sealant also, but it looks like you've got some stuff already lined up for that. If you look at Buddha Belly, check out Wing Wipe (detailing spray) and Eyes Outside (windshield cleaner) for daily maintenance.

rw2 wrote:

58Skylane wrote:Thanks! I know when it comes to the underside, I'm going to be thinking..... "What the heck am I thinking?!?"
But, I figured if I an wash, wax and polish an 80 foot race hauler a few times a year, this plane should be a piece of cake.

We make a product called Buddha Belly that was designed for cleaning undersides of airplanes. We make a modern sealant also, but it looks like you've got some stuff already lined up for that. If you look at Buddha Belly, check out Wing Wipe (detailing spray) and Eyes Outside (windshield cleaner) for daily maintenance.

After I use up what I have. I'll check out your product. I don't mind supporting fellow BCPers.

mountainmatt wrote:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0jm31TGhLY

Wow!! I'm not sure how this fits in this thread. But I really liked what I saw!!

I use WD40 for the belly and any other oily spots (pretty much the whole plane), then finish with Pledge in the yellow can. Works great!

The guy that hangars next to me pays a plane washing company to clean his Cub and Cardinal, $250 each! I think my cleaning job looks better, smells better too.

mountainmatt wrote:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0jm31TGhLY

Спасибо!!

For most of the airplane I use Wash Wax All and a whole bunch of rags. It works well, leaves a nice shine and requires no water. I also haul a bucket of water out there to wet a towel to soak the bugs off the windshield. One lesson learned from cleaning motorcycle helmet face shields is that dried bugs are awfully abrasive if you try to remove them dry and come off much easier when soaked. The water also comes in handy for pre-scrubbing any particularly nasty spots. I do the underside once a year with a creeper and varsol.

BCPilotguy wrote:I also haul a bucket of water out there to wet a towel to soak the bugs off the windshield.

+1

While I obviously have a horse in the race in terms of what products to use, this is the single most important idea that I see people skip. When we were sourcing the sprayers for our bottles one of the main criteria was how consistent a mist it produced. That way people can spray all the surfaces they are going to clean evenly, then circle back to the beginning and start wiping once the buggers have rehydrated. Another 'common sense' thing is to just stay on top of things. When we were doing the photo shoot for our launch, the Beech 18 our buddy lent us had bugs from June on it. They were super baked on and required lots of patience.

Fabric softener , cleans the bugs off real nice.....Like Real easy.

I don't. Probably hasn't seen soap in 10 years?

If I could find a place to get it done on a reasonable per hour rate (such as what the car detail guys charge), I'd probably do it. But like anything with an airplane prices are quite astronomical. Anyone want to open a plane wash? Or even a fly-in donations accepted plane wash fundraiser? Now there's an idea, I see them around town all the time.

Otherwise, rain showers will have to do.

Besides, an original 1970s paintjob is what it is. I'd probably gain a few knots though!

idair wrote:I don't. Probably hasn't seen soap in 10 years?

If I could find a place to get it done on a reasonable per hour rate (such as what the car detail guys charge), I'd probably do it. But like anything with an airplane prices are quite astronomical. Anyone want to open a plane wash? Or even a fly-in donations accepted plane wash fundraiser? Now there's an idea, I see them around town all the time.

Otherwise, rain showers will have to do.

Besides, an original 1970s paintjob is what it is. I'd probably gain a few knots though!

You might ask around whatever FBOs you frequent. Maybe one of the kids there wants to make a few extra bucks on his day off. Also consider offering the job to someone going through training. We have a girl putting herself through PPL doing detailing in the Chicago area. Around here they are charging between $175 and $250 for a piston single, which is pretty much what the car detailers would charge for a similar amount of work.

Cory, there's a plane wash at U42 right in front of my hangar. Costs $1.00 and open warm months. Wed evenings in the summer, I'm usually grilling something.

A lot of really great advice and tips in this thread. In the spirit of sharing, we recently prepared an article on how to detail an airplane. You can view it here if you're interested:

http://disciplesofflight.com/how-to-detail-an-airplane/

This is what I use. Minimal water and no rinsing required: