oldflyer-RCU

What is the best way to clean the oil residue off in order to recover a plane besides acetone. Once it gets into the wood it is really tough to make anything stick again. Will cleaning it with acetone and then use Stickit work?

RCKen

My Feedback: (9)

The best product to use is a carpet cleaner called K2r. You can find it at Wal-mart. Spray it onto the wood, wait for it to soak up the oil, and then brush it away. You're going to have to do this a few times until the oil is out of the wood. It helps if you use a covering heat gun to heat the wood between applications. This will force the oil out of the wood.

Hope this helps.

bmustang

My Feedback: (4)

K2R is a spot lifter for clothes but I guess it works on carpets too. It is not available everywhere, like in California. But you can mix corn starch with alcohol - denatured may work a little better than isopropyl. Mix to a paste and brush it on. When dry, brush it away. Repeat as necessary.

You can also put a paper towel on the wood and rub your covering iron over it - the heat draws out the oil and the paper soaks it up.

I have not yet tried the following, but some swear it works: once you've gotten out all you can, sread some thin CA glue on the surface, wipe over it with wax paper or plastic to make the CA "go off". The CA-treated surface will help plastic film to stick better.

None of these methods is perfect - it seems you can never get all the oil out. The best thing by far is to prevent the oil from getting into the wood in the first place. Coating the engine and tank compartments with epoxy helps a lot. But remember, that propeller is blasting all the oil from the exhaust into a fine mist and driving it EVERYWHERE. I resin up all around the wing opening, the seating areas on the sides and the front and rear, especially on low wing airplanes. On some, I have resined up the entire inside of the fuselage back to the wing trailing edge. A couple of weeks ago, after filling the tank, fuel was dripping from my airplane's belly. Took the wing off, and there was quite a puddle on the inside. The screw that tightened the tank stopper was loose. I had no damage because everywhere the fuel went, the wood was coated with resin. I just tightened the screw, sopped up the puddles, put everything back together and continued flying. A buddy was surprised - he thought the airplane was ruined. Nope!

I've had fuel lines pop off the tubes, get holes in them, and tanks develop leaks. There is no sense in NOT protecting the airplane from these hazards. I have mixed 30 minute glue and added denatured alcohol till it was thin enough to brush on and I have used finishing resin with little or no alcohol. I bend a disposable "acid" brush about 90 degrees, put on a latex glove, and slop resin in every nook and cranny. I have never been sorry

The Ghost

The best way to get the covering to stick to it, is to replace the wood!

Cheers.

Dsegal

Mix up a slurry of rubbing alcohol and cornstarch and brush it on. When dry, remove the powder with a stiff brush and repeat as needed. Then apply a coat of Balsarite which will seal the wood. Be sure to choose the correct type of Balsarite- for either film covering or for fabric.

Kaos Rulz

Kitty litter will take it completely out in about 3 days if you can submerge the part in a bag of it. And yes I have tried it; and no I don't remember the brand name -Sorry. [:@]

RCKen

My Feedback: (9)

Hmm, now there is an interesting idea I may have to try. I keep kitty litter around to clean up oil off of the garage floor. Dang if I don't love life, learn something new every day!!

Thanks Ed

red head

I've used k2r with pretty fair results and I have also used kitty litter with great results. After each though I used bulsarite to help the covering stick better. Here's a sort of neat tail about the kitty litter. A number of years ago a friend gave me a plane he had flown for years and it was SUPER oil soaked. I think it should have weighed about 5 # but when I got it it was closer to 8#. I tried every thing then one day I got a box that the plane would fit in and COMPLETLY covered the plane with kitty litter and just let it soak. Every now and then I would go turn the thing a different way. I did this for a good while (maybe 6 mo.) then one day I took it out and used the comperssor and lots of air to clean it all out. When I was satisfied with it, I used bulsarite on it and then recovered it just like it was when the friend gave it to me. When I took it to the field the first time my friend complemented me on my new plane. After he flew it and looked it all over and commented on HOW LIGHT it was I finally had to tell him it was his old plane -- he couldn't believe it. Sorry for the long story but I hope it is of some use. ENJOY!!!!! RED

oldflyer-RCU

a big thanks to all for the answers I will try them all sounds like one or many should work

rwright142

I did a search for 'fuel' and found this link. I hope it is not too old to get a response. Does anyone know if I can use a heat light after I remove the litter? Will that dry out any access? I noticed some fuel on my servos today and the screw that holds the 'clunk' in place had come a little loose and fuel passed through the seal. I'll put the plane in the litter and wait a few days. Thanks in advance.