Plane Cleaning supplies at Home Depot

[goalstop]

Hi forum! I’m trying to clean the plane this weekend, but don’t have a pilot shop in the area. What cleaning supplies (soaps & sponges) should I look for at a normal hardware store that won’t hurt the plane? Any other tips?

[GeeBee]

https://backcountrypilot.org/forum/is-simple-green-a-corrosive-5115

[201er]

35 minutes ago, goalstop said:

Hi forum! I’m trying to clean the plane this weekend, but don’t have a pilot shop in the area. What cleaning supplies (soaps & sponges) should I look for at a normal hardware store that won’t hurt the plane? Any other tips?

This is all you need:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/16-oz-Liquid-Cleaner-Wax-MI11216/204848403

Although it's cheaper at walmart (Mooney afterall):

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Meguiar-s-Cleaner-Wax-Liquid-Wax-Cleans-Shines-and-Protects-in-One-Easy-Step-A1216-16-oz/871743?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=0&wl13=5867&adid=22222222277871743_117755028669_12420145346&wmlspartner=wmtlabs&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=501107745824&wl4=pla-293946777986&wl5=9004363&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=8175035&wl11=local&wl12=871743&wl13=5867&veh=sem_LIA&gclid=Cj0KCQiAzfuNBhCGARIsAD1nu-92ntC4Vy_Xyru4kEMIFl5ZsgAllXSo8s4-8QnbXBivv3U4tMAIHHgaAv6iEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

Bucket of water, sponge, some soap. Wash first. Then you need an abundance of terry towels to apply and then buff that McGuires and the plane will be good as new.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/HDX-Terry-Towel-40-Pack-BARI-TERY-1440/308535034

 

For some reason, the microfiber ones that work well on cars aren't good on planes. These rough ones have always worked better on planes in my experience.

[goalstop]

39 minutes ago, 201er said:

This is all you need:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/16-oz-Liquid-Cleaner-Wax-MI11216/204848403

Although it's cheaper at walmart (Mooney afterall):

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Meguiar-s-Cleaner-Wax-Liquid-Wax-Cleans-Shines-and-Protects-in-One-Easy-Step-A1216-16-oz/871743?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=0&wl13=5867&adid=22222222277871743_117755028669_12420145346&wmlspartner=wmtlabs&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=501107745824&wl4=pla-293946777986&wl5=9004363&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=8175035&wl11=local&wl12=871743&wl13=5867&veh=sem_LIA&gclid=Cj0KCQiAzfuNBhCGARIsAD1nu-92ntC4Vy_Xyru4kEMIFl5ZsgAllXSo8s4-8QnbXBivv3U4tMAIHHgaAv6iEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

Bucket of water, sponge, some soap. Wash first. Then you need an abundance of terry towels to apply and then buff that McGuires and the plane will be good as new.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/HDX-Terry-Towel-40-Pack-BARI-TERY-1440/308535034

 

For some reason, the microfiber ones that work well on cars aren't good on planes. These rough ones have always worked better on planes in my experience.

What kind of soap? I heard that was the most important to get right 

[GeeBee]

Meguiars gold class or Mother's Gold  wash, both highly rated by Aviation Consumer.

 

 

[redbaron1982]

Regarding polishing/wax, does typical car products work? Doing the whole bar clay, polishing with a rotary tool and waxing as any car freak is suitable on an aircraft?

[201er]

32 minutes ago, goalstop said:

What kind of soap? I heard that was the most important to get right 

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Armor-All-64-oz-Ultra-Shine-Wash-and-Wax-210474/203205048?MERCH=REC-_-searchViewed-_-NA-_-203205048-_-N

[Hank]

I use Aerocosmetics Wash n Wax. Don't need hoses or water, do it in the hangar with the door closed. I buy white 100$ cotton hand towels in 24-packs at Walmart or Home Depot or the mill outlet.

Also works well on my cars.

[RoundTwo]

4 hours ago, Hank said:

I use Aerocosmetics Wash n Wax. Don't need hoses or water, do it in the hangar with the door closed. I buy white 100$ cotton hand towels in 24-packs at Walmart or Home Depot or the mill outlet.

Also works well on my cars.

Are those $100 towels Egyptian Cotton or something else super fancy? 

[StevenL757]

4 hours ago, Hank said:

I use Aerocosmetics Wash n Wax. Don't need hoses or water, do it in the hangar with the door closed. I buy white 100$ cotton hand towels in 24-packs at Walmart or Home Depot or the mill outlet.

Also works well on my cars.

Ditto.

[Hank]

6 minutes ago, RoundTwo said:

Are those $100 towels Egyptian Cotton or something else super fancy? 

Durn phone! "100%" cotton!!!

[amillet]

Last year somebody mentioned Tub o towels so I ordered them from Amazon a stuck them in the hangar. Today I changed the oil and as I reached for the bottle of degreaser I usually use to clean the belly pan I saw the Tub o Towels sitting on the shelf.  I was amazed at how well it worked on the exhaust residue and breather oil.  It just wiped right off without the normal elbow grease.

[Fly Boomer]

20 minutes ago, amillet said:

I was amazed at how well it worked on the exhaust residue and breather oil.  It just wiped right off without the normal elbow grease.

I remember a post about Tub-O-Towels but didn't realize they were soaked in solvent of some kind.  Thanks for the Pirep!

[Planegary]

You can also get the tub o towels at Harbor Freight if you want them immediately 

[Z W]

Had never heard of these, but just ordered some.

Looks like Simple Green makes something similar too.  Going to try those also.

[ArrowBerry]

I've used a couple different automotive degreasers for under the wings, around the gear, belly etc. If you experiment with a couple different brands you'll notice that pretty much all of them are good at removing the oil and grease, but only some of them really cut into the exhaust staining. I did some trial and error to find one I liked. One thing I always do after applying a degreaser is to follow up with quick wax so that there's no degreaser residue left on the paint. Mostly out of an abundance of caution, I've never had an issue doing it this way. Plus it makes cleaning the next time easier. 

This is a brand that I've come to use often, it's about $12 for 950ml. Probably different brands are available depending on where you live.

Apparently automotive Simple Green is corrosive to aluminum so that's the only one that I'm aware of to stay away from. They do make an aircraft version that's okay to use but you probably won't find that at a general hardware store.

I've never had to use a degreaser on anything except the bottom of the plane. The top of wings, tail, fuselage etc I use automotive quick wax. Usually the Mothers or Meguiars brand. Honestly whatever is on sale when I'm there. Meguiars makes a really good liquid polish and wax that I use about once a year when I really do a deep clean. The quick wax is a great maintainer in between. Plus they usually smell really nice 

[N201MKTurbo]

I would be careful, there are quite a few household cleaners that work great, but are far more corrosive than Simple Green.

I tried to look up the SDS for that stuff, but the Canadian rules don’t require an SDS for consumer products, so there could be just about anything in that stuff. BTW, that stuff is only sold at Canadian Tire. Most of us can’t get it. The fact that the bottle says it is an irritant, leads me to believe that it is very alkaline. 

[Jetpilot86]

My Baron and Twin Comanche buddies swear by Simple Green CITRUS only and only the CITRUS version. 
Has worked well on my oxidation so far.