Removing mogas spill from Mooney Wing

[Houman]

Ok, this might sound bizarre, but how can I properly clean my top wing surface if there was a spillage of automotive gas on the wing, what product should I use.

 

Here is what happened, in the hangar where my Mooney is kept, there is an industrial jack and a friend of my Mooney co-owner stores his small sea-plane during winter there, has done so for the last several years ( before I bought in the Mooney ). I'm always uneasy to see a 80K plane on top of a 150K plane, supported by a 15K jack that is supposed to handle 5000 LBS, the sea plane is just over 1000 LBS, so should be fine, but still.

 

Sunday morning when I got to the hanger for a flight, I noticed a big spot of stain on the right wing and thought it was oil, since it was yellow, but it didn't smell like oil and was not as greasy, I cleaned it up with a cloth, inspected the wing, and went on my flight without any issue ( beside a little yellow discoloration on the right wing ).

 

 

Yesterday, after talking to the sea plane owner in person at the hanger, he told me that the right wing fuel overspill was just over the spot and the plane was a bit angled on the jack so it must have spilled fuel, and that his plane uses automotive gas, not 100 LL, that is why I had not thought of it and since it had probably happened several days before, it didn't really smell gas ...

 

Anyway, would like to get my wing shining again, should I wax it or what to get rid of the discoloration ????

 

Thanks !!!

[Rwsavory]

Try some mild automotive polish, such as Meguiar's.

[MB65E]

Try some cleaner wax first. 3m makes it, black bottle autozone...

If that is to light an auto body wholesaler will have a 3m polish called Perfect-It. Morhers Mag wheel Polish will work too-autozone small white can red lable, screw on lid. Also hopefully the seaplane guy can find some elbowgrese.

-Matt

[Dale Logsdon]

Flitz polish works good on stains and will remove stains that wax or wax based polish won't touch like blue 100 LL stains. Should also work for mogas stains and is not hard on the paint.

[FloridaMan]

A generous amount of Aeroglaze dry wash should do the trick; make sure you wax again afterwards as it'll take the wax off too (Rejex is the best). 

[Guest]

If the stain comes off move the leaking plane to another hangar until the leak is fixed. Auto fuel ruins aircraft paint.

Clarence

[Hank]

Right on, Phil!

Gasoline is a great solvent. A little avgas will soften up blue drips on the hangar floor. I've used gasoline on a rag to take garage door trim paint off the side of my truck when I learned it was a very tight fit and I should park outside.

Splash a little gas on the rag and wipe immediately. Once the spot is all gone, you'll need to rewax, as gasoline is a great solvent (see above).

Would it be possible to angle the lift one way, and your plane the other way, so that future drips / spills will hit the floor instead of landing on your Mooney? This will work in a box hangar, but may not in a T-hangar.

Just throwing out some simple ideas.

[DAVIDWH]

Gasoline is a great solvent.

 

In the 70's, the only place we could get our greasy DC-6s washed with gas was in Haiti.

 

( Understand  that service is still available)

 

They always flew back to Miami sparkling clean and grease free.

 

Not sure why no one at the local airport would do the job??

 

As an after thought, you might try a small spot with paint thinner.

 

Remember, that's thinner and not remover. The containers look the same.

 

Best,

 

DH

[Alan Fox]

It looks like someone relieved themselves on the wing...

[Marauder]

It looks like someone relieved themselves on the wing...

And where were you between the hours of 7pm and 11pm on Saturday evening?

[Houman]

well, I have to see how this goes and if it's all good after I had cleaned it off. If not, then the sea plane owner had told me that he will pay if there is any work to be done to clean up the wing or wax or what have you...

He is actually a great guy, and a tv actor ( in Quebec ), so I guess he wants to keep his rep in good standing...