Repairs: how to degrease (fuel) from wood
 

I just crashed my PTS P51. I think I can rebuild the fuselage, and the wings are fine. However, there is a fair amount of fuel oil on some parts. Is there a way to soak the oil out of the wood, or will I have to rebuild the parts from scratch?

Thanks,

Antonio

RE: Repairs: how to degrease (fuel) from wood
 

Sometimes you can use spot remover and soak up some of the oil.

Cornstarch soaks up oil. So does finely crushed kitty litter.

Acetone will disolve it and make it soluable--but you still gotta soak it up with something. Maybe splash some acetone or alcohol down in there and then chase it with kitty litter to soak it all up.

When all else fails--rebuild from scratch.[:o]

RE: Repairs: how to degrease (fuel) from wood
 

Lore has it that K2R spotlifter, available in the Housewares/Goodies aisles, will suck the oil right out. I have tried it, with spotty success. Sorry, no pun intended...;)

The stuff is incredibly messy and odiferous. You spray it on let it dry, then are supposed to "brush" it away; somewhat problematical in the cramped confines of a nose section.

Still. it may be worth a shot. You must have hit pretty hard to bust the tank...

RE: Repairs: how to degrease (fuel) from wood
 

No, I didn't burst the tank! After some 20 odd flights, there seems to be a lot of exhause residue on the inside of the frame where it joins the wing.

RE: Repairs: how to degrease (fuel) from wood
 

Fill the nose with kitty litter and let it set for a couple days then dump it out and blow out all the excess. Should be dry enough to work with. ENJOY !!! RED

RE: Repairs: how to degrease (fuel) from wood
 

K2R, kitty litter, and corn starch all will get the fuel and exhaust out of the wood of the plane. But you have to know that it takes more than one or two applications. You are going to have to really work at it. With the K2R and corn starch you need to use your heat gun (or a hair dryer) to heat up the wood, as you heat it you will see the oil "ooze" out of the wood. Spray the K2R on the wood, or rub the corn starch in, and then wait until you see them getting soaked with the oil. Use a brush and rags to remove the K2R or cornstarch. Then repeat. How long?? Until you don't see the oil seeping out when you heat it up. Be advised this can take hours and hours worth of work, it's going to take awhile. With the kitty litter you do the same thing with heating the wood, but instead of rubbing the kitty litter onto the wood put the fuselage in a big baggy (or a trash bag) filled with the kitty litter, and make sure you get it inside the fuselage too. As with the other materials keep repeating until you get it all out. Once you have the oil as much out as you can you need to seal up the wood. If you have easy access you can fuel-proof with epoxy and heat. Use 30 minute epoxy and put a small blob of epoxy on at a time and heat it with your heat gun (or the blow dryer) until it thins out and then spread it out with an epoxy brush (acid brushes from an auto parts store), and keep doing this until you have the entire area covered. If it's inside of a fuselage and you can't get at it with the heat you can thin epoxy with alcohol to brush it on. Mix your epoxy and then add alcohol a couple of drops at a time until it's just thin enough to brush on. You don't want to get too much alcohol in it or it will never set up and remain soft. Sealing up the wood will keep any more oil from seeping out, and from any more fuel getting into the wood.

Hope this helps

Ken