I thought all the gear wrenches in this group would be a good sounding board for this. I was talking airplane restorations of old aircraft with someone who sounded like he knew what he was talking about and he said that Simple Green is a mild corrosive to aluminum??

Since I use Simple Green for everything (including cleaning the belly of my plane and in my parts washer), I wanted to check this.

Anybody know for sure.

Thanks! Larry

The Air Force was the one that quit using Simple Green because it didn't meet their Mil-specs and was thought to cause corrosion and embrittlement.

Either way, there's probably a reason Simple Green makes a special aircraft cleaner...

Someone recently posted this in another thread:

From the Simple Green Website:
"Aluminum - Is it safe to use Simple Green® on aluminum?
When used with caution and according to the instructions, Simple Green All-Purpose Cleaner has been safely and successfully used to clean aluminum. Simple Green All-Purpose Cleaner, Crystal Simple Green® Cleaner/Degreaser, Simple Green Pressure Washer Concentrates, and Pro Series™ Simple Green® Automotive Cleaner have been used on aircraft, automotive, industrial and consumer aluminum items for over 20 years. However, caution and common sense must be used: aluminum is a soft metal that easily corrodes with unprotected exposure to water. The aqueous-base and alkalinity of Simple Green All-Purpose Cleaner can accelerate the corrosion process. Therefore, contact times for unprotected or unpainted aluminum surfaces should be kept as brief as the job will allow - never for more than 10 minutes. Large cleaning jobs should be conducted in smaller-area stages to achieve lower contact time. Rinsing after cleaning should always be extremely thorough - paying special attention to flush out cracks and crevices to remove all Simple Green® product residues. Unfinished, uncoated or unpainted aluminum cleaned with Simple Green products should receive some sort of protectant after cleaning to prevent oxidation.

Simple Green has also developed break-through water based cleaners that are safe for use on metals, plastics, rubber and high tech alloys. Extreme Simple Green® Aircraft & Precision Cleaner and Simple Green® Pro HD are available on both the industrial and retail markets, respectively. These products were initially developed for the aircraft industry and extensive testing shows that they are safe and effective on a variety of metals and other sensitive surfaces even in the most extreme circumstances."

Hey Larry
I use a product called Spray 9. Have been using it for over 20 yrs. with no adverse reactions. I do try to wipe if pretty clean. Sometimes I'll even go over it with some windex. But usually not. Great for getting the residue off the bottom, and a good quick hand cleaner. Qt. sizes comes in spray bottles, but you can get gals for refill.

I buy it at the Ace hardware store here. Used to sell it in Az. Originally a germicidal kitchen cleaner.

Gary

http://www.heartlandlabs.com/omniclean.html

This is the best stuff I have ever used, you know it's working when you start coughing.

Towcub has done some research on the simple green formula. What he determined was you need to use this kind of simple green which is actually purple. I use is on my plane is and cheap since it is a concentrate and goes a long long way mixed. http://www.simplegreen.com/products_pro_hd.php

bmurrish wrote:Towcub has done some research on the simple green formula. What he determined was you need to use this kind of simple green which is actually purple. I use is on my plane is and cheap since it is a concentrate and goes a long long way mixed. http://www.simplegreen.com/products_pro_hd.php

I go to a lot of Aircraft trade shows and there's usually a "Aviation "grade Simple Green booth .
They give out some of those little sample bottles-I usually stock up for free. They have these
free bags with there logo to haul them out with all there advertising ,which I trash at the door.
Aviation grade Simple green grade more expensive than the common wally world type ,but supposed endorsed by the airframe manufactures as non corrosive.
I use the "plane wash" from Sporty's about 15 bucks a gallon - should make 10-20 gallons . I use sprayer for garden stuff (less than 18 bucks) and hose it off with water. Really oily spots get a spray with "wally world (Walmart) brake cleaner " to break up.
Cheaper than all that is a gallon of car gas from the local am-pm service station and a shop rag.
Wipe on or spray . Windows can be "grazed" by the brake cleane so keep from hitting them please.
Carburetor cleaner works good on fuel system parts but will attack plastic and some rubber parts.

Did Somebody already mention this ? It's what we use on the Cubs and the Cessna-185.

Matt Keller
http://blueiceaviation.posterous.com/

I recently sent in my muffler for overhaul. The shroud had a bunch of caked on/baked on burnt oil residue. Someone on one of the aviation forums mentioned using Easy-Off oven cleaner on a mufler shroud-- I tried it & it worked great! I heated the shroud in the oven at home at 200 then took it outside & srayed it down, let sit then washed it off. Several applications (with a litle scrubbing) got it all except a tiny bit I had to bead-blast off.
Anyway, a while later I was replacing the brake pads, & using brake cleaner tried (& failed) to clean the brake residue off the lower gear leg area. Figgered I'd try the easy-off and it worked great again! It seems to be an emulsifying type cleaner, sorta like the old spray-on Gunk engine cleaner which might work well also-- that sure worked good on my harley back in the day.
That can of Easy-Off has earned a place in the hangar -- I don't know about any long-term bad side effects but I try to do a thorough job of wiping it off anyway.

Eric

hotrod150 wrote: using Easy-Off oven cleaner on a mufler shroud-- I tried it & it worked great!

Did the same thing on one of my shrouds on my C-145. It does work really well to remove that nasty glaze-baked spooge.

For you chemical wiz kids here is what Easy OFF contains, be careful you might get some unfriendly long term results

Water Diluent
Butane Propellant
Butoxydiglycol Solvent
Sodum Hydroxide Cleaning Agent - Alkalinity
Ethanolamine pH Adjuster
Paraffin Wax Wax
Magnesium Aluminum Silicate Thickener

Thanks for the info.

When I get a chance, I am going to try a few different applications on bare aluminum and see if I get any reactions (of the type I don't want). But I can't imagine Simple Green advertising for aircraft if it really were a corrosive.

I let you know if something unexpected happens.

Thanks for the input!

Regards, Larry

Water Diluent
Butane Propellant
Butoxydiglycol Solvent
Sodum Hydroxide Cleaning Agent - Alkalinity
Ethanolamine pH Adjuster
Paraffin Wax Wax
Magnesium Aluminum Silicate Thickener

Don't know about the other stuff, but Sodium Hydroxide chemically reacts with aluminum. Cleaning the steel parts of the exhaust system seems ok, but I really would be uncomfortable getting it on the aluminum portions, especially if you cannot flush it completely off.

My understanding the Aviation "grade" Simple Green does meet mil specs, but I am not positive about that.

Tom

mr scout wrote:Water Diluent
Butane Propellant
Butoxydiglycol Solvent
Sodum Hydroxide Cleaning Agent - Alkalinity
Ethanolamine pH Adjuster
Paraffin Wax Wax
Magnesium Aluminum Silicate Thickener

Good to know. I did not clean the shrouds on-airplane. They were removed and distanced from any of my delicate goodies, like painted surfaces and aluminum. Anyone who's ever used the stuff for its intended purpose knows that you should avoid breathing the fumes as much as possible too... [/mustard gas]

Just FYI:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gihAT6eXaoc

I don't know if Aircraft Simple Green is corrosive or not, but if you aren't somewhere you can wash it off thoroughly, it may discolor your paint. I made the mistake of using the stuff at OSH to clean the bugs off the leading edges, and it discolored the red leading edges. May not do the same to other colors.

MTV