? Using treatments to Belly Pan to make cleaning easier

[M20F-1968]

My belly pan gets cleaned when it is removed  but is more difficult to do when it is left on the airplane.   I have some  ceramic coatings that I was planning to use on the airplane generally,  but am considering using it in the next day or two specifically on the belly pan now that I have it off,  to make the surface  slicker  and  less amenable   to the accumulation of exhaust waste.  For those that have  use these products,  would you recommend such a coating on the belly pan?   My concern is once you use  any of the ceramic type products  it's harder to do any kind of painting or rework  because of the coating how it changes the paint.   However,  the benefits likely outweigh the risks.

Any thought?

John Breda

[1980Mooney]

2 hours ago, M20F-1968 said:

My belly pan gets cleaned when it is removed  but is more difficult to do when it is left on the airplane.   I have some  ceramic coatings that I was planning to use on the airplane generally,  but am considering using it in the next day or two specifically on the belly pan now that I have it off,  to make the surface  slicker  and  less amenable   to the accumulation of exhaust waste.  For those that have  use these products,  would you recommend such a coating on the belly pan?   My concern is once you use  any of the ceramic type products  it's harder to do any kind of painting or rework  because of the coating how it changes the paint.   However,  the benefits likely outweigh the risks.

Any thought?

John Breda

Ceramic coating treatments, especially DIY, are semi-permanent first of all. Second if you are painting or “reworking” (not sure if you mean “touch up”) you need too prepare the surface.  Not sure what kind of paint is on your plane but this may mean abrasion to stripping. Either way it removes the ceramic coating. And since this is the bottom of the plane that no one can see, blending issues and matching are less important. But if it makes cleaning the belly easier that is what matters. 

[Hank]

I just use Aero Cosmetics Wash n Wax. Lean the one piece belly against the wall and clean it in halves, left and right. Takes about 5 minutes. Easy to spot clean during the year on a creeper.

[EricJ]

A decent wax will provide similar protection to keep stuff from sticking.   So either ceramic coatings or a decent wax (automotive waxes are great) will make it easier to clean.

 

[PT20J]

I find Carbon-X takes the exhaust residue off easily without any special treatment to the belly skin.

[jaylw314]

I'd point out that most paint treatments are designed to repel water, not oil.  As such, they are usually hydrophobic and would not be expected to repel oil (and may even stick to oil more).

[EricJ]

1 hour ago, jaylw314 said:

I'd point out that most paint treatments are designed to repel water, not oil.  As such, they are usually hydrophobic and would not be expected to repel oil (and may even stick to oil more).

Getting road tar, tire turd marks, etc., off of a waxed car is far easier than if it is unwaxed.  I suspect the same is true with ceramic coating, but I don't have as much experience with it.    Oxidized paint or just weathered finishes tend to not want to let go of anything, it seems, by comparison.

[jaylw314]

52 minutes ago, EricJ said:

Getting road tar, tire turd marks, etc., off of a waxed car is far easier than if it is unwaxed.  I suspect the same is true with ceramic coating, but I don't have as much experience with it.    Oxidized paint or just weathered finishes tend to not want to let go of anything, it seems, by comparison.

It probably has to do with the surface of paint getting rougher as it ages and erodes.  Wax would even out that roughness a bit.

Edited January 5, 2022 by jaylw314

[Guest]

Not sure about the ceramic coating, but we use this stuff to clean both 100LL and Jet A soot.

https://www.chemicalguys.com/signature-series-orange-degreaser/signature-orange-degreaser.html?gtmListValue=Internal Search

Clarence

[WilliamR]

My experience is that DIY ceramic coatings are superior to a high grade wax and "ceramic waxes". Plenty of youtube vids with real world comparisons seem to show that. Over the past 15 yrs I've used all kinds of waxes and coatings on the plane and my cars. I've found a ceramic coating after a thorough "paint correction" will last greater than a year on the belly. If the belly panel is off, I would wash, clay bar, then polish out any imperfections in the paint. Then, clean and apply ceramic coating as indicated in the instructions. If you mess up the coating application in some way or you you need to do some paint work, the DIY coating can typically be abraded off with modest polishing (note all polishing referenced is using a motorized polisher). Coating without the other steps would still be better than just waxing, but durability and end product will be lacking.

After a couple years, I've noticed cleaning what little oil sticks to the plane is a breeze to clean (one wipe with a wet micro fiber cloth and some mild car soap) and exhaust, which is very sticky, comes off fairly easy.  The first few times after coating, the exhaust wiped right off with one wipe.  Two years later, less so but still pretty good.

William

[Yetti]

I am consistently surprised how easy a tub of $2.00 Goop that you can get at Homer dan will cut through everything that ends up on a plane.

Edited January 11, 2022 by Yetti

[jetdriven]

PTI degreaser will strip the oily crap off the bellly and not harm the paint. Isopropyl alcohol 90% takes off the brown iridescent streak left behind by exhaust.