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#1
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Limitations of Lemon Pledge
As many of you know, I am a big proponent of using Lemon Pledge to clean an
airplane. It can be used on the Plexiglas safely, and if you spray the leading edges of the wings with it after each flight, the bugs just swish right off with little effort. In fact, that's ALL we have ever washed the plane with -- Lemon Pledge. No soap and water has ever touched our plane. When we were at Sun N Fun a couple of weeks ago, however, I saw a most peculiar speckle and stripe pattern on our wings and fuselage that was only visible in the direct sunlight. There were obviously cleaner spots and stripes, and Pledge would not touch them. You could spray, wipe and buff till your heart's content, but all you were doing was buffing the surface -- this dirt was much deeper than that. When we got home I hit a spot with some Castrol Super Clean, and *voila!* -- the whole spot became a much whiter, gleaming white. Apparently two years of Lemon Pledging has actually sealed some dirt in, under a layer of Pledge wax that the Pledge itself couldn't dissolve. So, last night my son and I started the arduous task of washing every square inch with Super Clean and diapers, followed immediately by a coat of spray-on Turtle wax (to neutralize the caustic Super Clean). He finished the under-side, while I did the top of both wings -- wow, what a difference! What looked "clean and white" before is now almost blindingly white. The dullness had crept up so slowly that we simply did not notice. So, while we'll still hit the windshield, leading edges, and nose with Pledge after each flight, our days of using it as an "overall" cleaner are over -- although I'd like to find something less harsh than Super Clean. Any suggestions? -- Jay Honeck Iowa City, IA Pathfinder N56993 www.AlexisParkInn.com "Your Aviation Destination" |
#2
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Jay, have you ever tried Wash Wax All? That's what I use and it seems to
work very well. It's made for airplanes, while Lemon Pledge, let's face it, is made for furniture. I've used Lemon Pledge on the windows but wonder if it might also seal dirt in as it apparently did with your airplane fuselage. My old instructor recommended Novus for the windows. I've used that for two years and it also seems to do the job fine. Henry P.S. How much would your son charge to do the underwings and undertailfeathers of a 150? That wrecks my back. Might be worth a trip out to Iowa City. |
#3
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Jay Honeck wrote:
As many of you know, I am a big proponent of using Lemon Pledge to clean an airplane. It can be used on the Plexiglas safely, and if you spray the leading edges of the wings with it after each flight, the bugs just swish right off with little effort. Although I've used pledge on the windshields for 17 years, you should note that some of the new plexiglass cleaners, like the product made by Aeroshell, work SIGNIFICANTLY better than pledge. In fact, that's ALL we have ever washed the plane with -- Lemon Pledge. No soap and water has ever touched our plane. I've never understood your obsession on this. Wash your damn plane once in a while. Soap and water gets places, and disolves dirt, that you can't get to with your obsessive use of pledge. When we were at Sun N Fun a couple of weeks ago, however, I saw a most peculiar speckle and stripe pattern on our wings and fuselage that was only visible in the direct sunlight. There were obviously cleaner spots and stripes, and Pledge would not touch them. You could spray, wipe and buff till your heart's content, but all you were doing was buffing the surface -- this dirt was much deeper than that. I've also seen this over the years. You really have not choice but to strip off the wax every so often. I've always been uncomfortable with using things that are too caustic. Sometimes, just a high concentration of dish washing liquid works. You can also get some mild polishes that will strip away the old wax. --- Jay -- __!__ Jay and Teresa Masino ___(_)___ http://www2.ari.net/jmasino ! ! ! http://www.oceancityairport.com http://www.oc-adolfos.com |
#4
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I've never understood your obsession on this. Wash your damn plane once
in a while. Soap and water gets places, and disolves dirt, that you can't get to with your obsessive use of pledge. The main reason is that Spam Cans aren't very waterproof. After our plane was parked in Tennessee for three days in a steady rain, the carpet by the door was wet, and our nice, new interior smelled dank. Excess moisture was evident even after we got home, despite "air drying" for three or four days -- and about ten hours in the air. This despite the fact that the plane is air-tight in flight. Cleaning my motorcycles with Pledge -- not water -- has meant that I have a 1988 Gold Wing that looks like it just rolled off the assembly line. No moisture gets into the cracks and crevices, meaning that everything stays fresh and clean longer. (Water works itself into areas that cannot be dried, then attracts dirt and slowly gums up the works or corrodes whatever it's sitting on. In fact, my hangar neighbor with a mid-50s Bonanza just had to replace a chunk of skin metal on the bottom, due to corrosion. The diagnosis: Water got into the area and could not drain. Over the years, it literally ate a hole in the bottom of the plane!) Pledge is still the best day-to-day cleaner polish for the money -- but it's evident that a stronger detergent-type cleaner is needed every so often. -- Jay Honeck Iowa City, IA Pathfinder N56993 www.AlexisParkInn.com "Your Aviation Destination" |
#5
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I use about 1/2 cap of Woolite in 3 gallons of H20 and get wonderful
results. Even though the water in Tucson is quite 'hard', I get a spot free plane after moderate rinsing and towel drying. Since I don't have access to a hose at my shadeport, the Woolite solution is sprayed on with a pump up sprayer, the dirt is knocked loose with a soft nylon brush sitting in a bucket of water, then the plane is rinsed with another sprayer full of plane water (no pun intended.) -- Regards, Mike http://mywebpage.netscape.com/amountainaero/fspic1.html "Jay Honeck" wrote in message news:29xkc.4235$Ik.349647@attbi_s53... As many of you know, I am a big proponent of using Lemon Pledge to clean an airplane. It can be used on the Plexiglas safely, and if you spray the leading edges of the wings with it after each flight, the bugs just swish right off with little effort. In fact, that's ALL we have ever washed the plane with -- Lemon Pledge. No soap and water has ever touched our plane. When we were at Sun N Fun a couple of weeks ago, however, I saw a most peculiar speckle and stripe pattern on our wings and fuselage that was only visible in the direct sunlight. There were obviously cleaner spots and stripes, and Pledge would not touch them. You could spray, wipe and buff till your heart's content, but all you were doing was buffing the surface -- this dirt was much deeper than that. When we got home I hit a spot with some Castrol Super Clean, and *voila!* -- the whole spot became a much whiter, gleaming white. Apparently two years of Lemon Pledging has actually sealed some dirt in, under a layer of Pledge wax that the Pledge itself couldn't dissolve. So, last night my son and I started the arduous task of washing every square inch with Super Clean and diapers, followed immediately by a coat of spray-on Turtle wax (to neutralize the caustic Super Clean). He finished the under-side, while I did the top of both wings -- wow, what a difference! What looked "clean and white" before is now almost blindingly white. The dullness had crept up so slowly that we simply did not notice. So, while we'll still hit the windshield, leading edges, and nose with Pledge after each flight, our days of using it as an "overall" cleaner are over -- although I'd like to find something less harsh than Super Clean. Any suggestions? -- Jay Honeck Iowa City, IA Pathfinder N56993 www.AlexisParkInn.com "Your Aviation Destination" |
#6
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Henry Kisor wrote:
: Jay, have you ever tried Wash Wax All? That's what I use and it seems to : work very well. It's made for airplanes, while Lemon Pledge, let's face it, : is made for furniture. I also use wash-all wax-all (or whatever it's called). It comes in a 1-gal jug, dilute 50/50 with water, and it does a spectacular job. It doesn't leave that slight stickiness that pledge seems to leave, which is important if your plane is outside! Get the "red label" super concentrated stuff. I have been using Plexus window cleaner on the windows. It also works quite well. -- Aaron Coolidge |
#7
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Okay, so you've admitted that you were wrong about the Pledge, now why
should be believe that Castrol Super Clean would not be as harmful as Simple Green. Sorry, all you Jay fans! On Fri, 30 Apr 2004 18:45:18 GMT, "Jay Honeck" wrote: As many of you know, I am a big proponent of using Lemon Pledge to clean an airplane. It can be used on the Plexiglas safely, and if you spray the leading edges of the wings with it after each flight, the bugs just swish right off with little effort. In fact, that's ALL we have ever washed the plane with -- Lemon Pledge. No soap and water has ever touched our plane. When we were at Sun N Fun a couple of weeks ago, however, I saw a most peculiar speckle and stripe pattern on our wings and fuselage that was only visible in the direct sunlight. There were obviously cleaner spots and stripes, and Pledge would not touch them. You could spray, wipe and buff till your heart's content, but all you were doing was buffing the surface -- this dirt was much deeper than that. When we got home I hit a spot with some Castrol Super Clean, and *voila!* -- the whole spot became a much whiter, gleaming white. Apparently two years of Lemon Pledging has actually sealed some dirt in, under a layer of Pledge wax that the Pledge itself couldn't dissolve. So, last night my son and I started the arduous task of washing every square inch with Super Clean and diapers, followed immediately by a coat of spray-on Turtle wax (to neutralize the caustic Super Clean). He finished the under-side, while I did the top of both wings -- wow, what a difference! What looked "clean and white" before is now almost blindingly white. The dullness had crept up so slowly that we simply did not notice. So, while we'll still hit the windshield, leading edges, and nose with Pledge after each flight, our days of using it as an "overall" cleaner are over -- although I'd like to find something less harsh than Super Clean. Any suggestions? |
#8
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"Stu Gotts" wrote in message ... Okay, so you've admitted that you were wrong about the Pledge, now why should be believe that Castrol Super Clean would not be as harmful as Simple Green. Sorry, all you Jay fans! Heck, I do all three at the same time.....down wind slipping turns with full flaps while spraying Simple Green all over the plane. |
#9
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Jay Honeck wrote:
The main reason is that Spam Cans aren't very waterproof. All you have to do is whip it around the pattern a couple of times after you wash it. It'll be fine. My plane sat outside for years before I finally got my hangar. It was no big deal. You're being overly obsessive. -- __!__ Jay and Teresa Masino ___(_)___ http://www2.ari.net/jmasino ! ! ! http://www.oceancityairport.com http://www.oc-adolfos.com |
#10
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Jay and all,
Without question the best stuff I've found for cleaning airplanes is Tomar TR-1000. It is designed to be safe for aluminum airplanes, unlike the cleaning products you'll find in your local discount store. It is extremely effective when diluted and used as directed. Unfortunately it is expensive and not easy to find. I ordered a 5 gallon drum of it directly from the supplier, which added on shipping costs. But it lasts a long time. I wash my plane 2 or 3 times a year. I'm in a generally warm and dry climate from April through October so I'm not worried about corrosion that much. The wash rack at my airport has very hard water, so my trick is to take a high-quality silicone rubber squeege, 1 to 2 gallons of distilled water, and a garden sprayer. After washing with the TR-1000 (diluting as directed) and rinsing with the hose at the wash rack, I squeege off the hard rinse water wherever possible. Then I spray important areas like the plexiglass, or curved shapes I couldn't squeege too well, with the distilled water--enough to make it run off, displacing the hard water with distilled water. I towel dry the other areas that I squeeged but didn't spray. Finally I'll fly it around the pattern to air dry the crevices. |
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