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Plane wash

Old 05-12-2011, 03:56 PM
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trike_flyer
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Default Plane wash

Hello all

Due to the nature of our engines of choice the planes get lots of fuel oil on them. What I was thinking is what is a safe wash for the planes. We don't want to use carb cleaner to remove the oil due to the fact it will remove all paint. So what does everyone use?

I was thinking dish soap. It cuts the oil and will not hurt the paint.

Lets hear and debate the issue

Old 05-12-2011, 04:08 PM
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MJD
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Default RE: Plane wash

Fantastik
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Old 05-12-2011, 04:56 PM
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flyinrog
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Default RE: Plane wash

About anything in a spray bottle, if your engine of choice has a muffler, route it away from the plane if possible..Rog
Old 05-12-2011, 05:19 PM
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Default RE: Plane wash

Windex.
Old 05-12-2011, 06:41 PM
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icerinkdad
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Default RE: Plane wash

Rubbing alcohol in a spray bottle. Learned this from a combat flyer who flew with Fox engines that all liked high castor fuel. The alcohol liquifies the oil residue and you just wipe it off.
Works great.
Bob
Old 05-14-2011, 12:14 AM
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Red Baron Mike
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Default RE: Plane wash

I agree with the alcohol as I have used it for over 30 years. The problem with Windex or any detergent type cleaners, they clean by causing "dirt and grime" to release from the surface. A percentage of the chemical releasing agents remain on the plane's surface. In time, it gets under the covering and causes the covering's adhesive to fail. Alcohol dilutes the oils and after you wipe the surface, it evaporates quickly without leaving any residue to loosen the covering. It is also cheap as regular 70% rubbing alcohol is all that is needed.
Old 05-14-2011, 08:40 AM
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Default RE: Plane wash

I've always just wiped off the excess with a paper towel and then used Windex. I found that it seemed to cut through the oil's bond to the surfaces the best.

I've never noticed any lifting of the covering even over long term use other than on some model's that have iron on plastic coverings with small trim stripes up near the engine. My thinking is that the oil and fuel is more likely to be the cause of these eventually lifting moreso than the Windex.

Also if you spray on Windex and allow to dry you'll find that it leaves no film at all behind. So even if it was the soapy residue that may be the cause of some of the issue of lifting edges Windex won't do this due to totally evaporating.

Alchohal will just dilute the oil. So more of it needs to be used. But I'll admit that when flying on really cold days where the oil is just too thick to wipe away easily I've used alky to dissolve and wipe away most of the oil before using Windex to finish the job.

Brake cleaner and other solvents may or may not remove the paint. But certainly using something as strong as acetone, lacquer thinner or dope thinner would do so. THese would be my last choices. And in fact I KNOW that lacquer thinner, acetone, toluene and dope thinner will remove the coloured glue from the back of plastic films. So they would also dissolve and remove the glue from any edges on the covering. So with this in mind the strongest solvents I'd EVER use on a painted or plastic covered model are alchohal or mineral spirits (AKA "low odor paint thinner).
Old 05-15-2011, 02:37 PM
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lildiesel
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Default RE: Plane wash


ORIGINAL: MJD

Fantastik
Simple Green
I've used a variety of automotive degreasers over the years. Early on I found it safer to dilute the product, wipe with a shop cloth, and then hose the remnants off with a spray of clear water as soon as the fuse and wing were clean enough to suit me.
Old 05-16-2011, 03:43 PM
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Default RE: Plane wash

One of our club flyers used a great solution. Up here we use a LOT of windshield washer anti-freeze. I take that and fill a spray bottle about 3/4 full. Then I top it up with water. Then I put a cap full of Sunlight dish detergent in it. The Windshield washer anti-freeze has a large portion of alcohol. It has some degreasers for cleaning the grime off the windshield. The detergent just helps a bit. Spray on. Wipe off. Cleans great. Residual evaporates quickly.

Jim H
Old 05-17-2011, 02:13 PM
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ZAGNUT
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Default RE: Plane wash

i just use those wet wipes made for cleaning counter tops or whatever....kinda like baby wipes but with strong detergent and at least here they come in a nice gallon sized bucket with a few hundred wipes.

if it's grime that's been neglected and hardened up then i'll spray it with IPA first.
Old 06-25-2011, 10:07 AM
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Default RE: Plane wash

This is what worked fine for me for years:
Wipe off the oil residue with a dry cloth. Spray on a 10 % solution of a good dish wash soap. Wipe the plane clean with a (clean!) micro fibre cloth. This cloth will absorb allmost all liquid on the surface of the plane.
Over time a soap based residue might build up on the surface. This can be easily removed with a damp cloth. It also prevents sticking oil to the plane.

Since I started using a few % of synthetic oil in my fuel for my smallest engines, it seams more easy to get the oil residue of the planes.

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