airplane wax

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muleywannabe

Pre-takeoff checklist
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Cherokee235
We want to keep our aircraft clean and would like give the plane a nice wax job. What can we use that is available typically local such as Auto Zone, Walmart, etc.

thanks
 
Forget "local." Go online and order Wash/Wax-All from Aero-Cosmetics.

HR
 
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Nu Finish is famous for shining up pretty much anything and lasting a long time. Beats anything else for durabilty. Can be hard to buff off if you do too much at one time. Stick to 2x2 areas and go slow.

Here's from an AutoGeek forum:

Meguiar’s NXT Generation Tech Wax 2.0, $18, and NU Finish NFP-80, $8, A CR Best Buy, topped Consumer Reports’ latest tests of 19 car waxes, for liquid and paste, respectively.
CR’s tests also revealed that premium car wax brands don’t necessarily out-perform their lower-priced counterparts: Liquid or gel waxes from premium brands like Autoglym, Eagle One, Mothers, Zymol scored lower than products from Nu Finish, and 3M, although Autoglym Super Resin Polish (liquid) and Mothers California Gold Carnauba Cleaner Wax (liquid) were both Recommended. Among paste waxes, Mothers FX Engineered Synwax 20011 (Recommended), and Mothers California Gold Carnauba Cleaner Wax were outscored by Nu Finish NFP-80 and Turtle Wax Synthetic Paste Polish T-465.

I'd stay away from Meguiars NXT as I've found it looks great but doesn't last. However, their Ultimate Compound is the best there is for cleaning up ugly paint!
PS: Don't waste your money on "airplane" waxes.....same old stuff - different bottle - higher price!
 
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I use mothers paste wax on the leading edges. That's it. Makes the bugs easy to get off. Planes in a hangar so the finish looks good years later.
 
muleywannabe said:
We want to keep our aircraft clean and would like give the plane a nice wax job. What can we use that is available typically local such as Auto Zone, Walmart, etc.

thanks
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Collenite No. 845 Insulator Wax. Order it online, (unless you live where there is a Boat Owners Warehouse or other shop that carries it, large electrical suppliers often carry it as well.) it is the easiest wax to use on and off, (apply only a thin film with a damp applicator and remove with a Microfiber towel to control static and dust) and lasts better than any other product made for the purpose with the best finish and gloss. On the yachts I run we use it to clean everything that isn't textile, and my stewardess love me for introducing them to it because it saves so much time and effort and is one inexpensive product to do everything 10 products used to do. Use it on your paint, your panel, your plastic, your vinyl, your leather... There are a few very cheap plastics that it is reactive to, but I haven't come across them on aircraft. If dubious, do a little spot and see if it wipes away clean and shiny. If it does, you're good to go, if it doesn't, you have some rubbing to do to clean up that spot lol.

http://www.collinite.com/automotive-wax/insulator-wax/

I usually pay $15-$16 a bottle. Use it to clean off the bugs as well and leave a nice coat of wax behind. Eventually you'll notice less and less bugs stick.
 
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skylanerg said:
Familiar. Very good product. Twice the price of Nu Finish. Twice the performance? Nope.
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Twice the price? Hardly when you compare volume to cover, I could do my plane 4 times with a $15 bottle. Twice the performance? Greater than, unless you really need a buff job and are just putting lipstick on a pig of a paint job, then nothing beats NuFinish except Mop&Glo which is even cheaper and way easier than NuFinish. If the paint is really crap and you don't want to put forth the effort of polishing it properly, start with Comet and a sponge, then hit it with Mop&Glo, it'll look spectacular in comparison to prior. Or you can break out the buffer, the Finesse It paste compound, then the glaze, and then wax it with a pure, non abrasive wax, and do the job right.

Wax does not repair finishes. Wax protects finishes. It can't cure oxidation, only polishing can; it can prevent oxidation and smooth over the microscopic edges and imperfections on the surface giving it a deep slick glow, and that NuFinish can't do because it has abrasive coarser than the surface deposition can fill.
 
Questions about NuFinish:

The Amazon description says it is not a wax. So what is it?

Does it make it easier to clean off bugs, the way wax does?

Some Amazon reviewers complain that chips in your paint turn white and stay that way after many washes. Is this a problem for a plane that has some little chips in the paint?

How many cans do you need to polish a four-seater single-engine plane, top and bottom?
 
Henning is correct about prepping the paint. However, Muley's original post asks just two questions.
1. A nice wax?
2. Auto store/Walmart?

The most important consideration here is applying and keeping wax on the plane. It's more about protection than anything else. So in that context I'd answer the original questions with:
1. Yes
2. Yes

Then the next consideration is the level of your pride of ownership. This will determine the costs in time and product(s). Time being the biggie. I clean the build-up from the rivets. Have fun with that. :lol:
 
You may consider de-ox before you wax....

I de-ox once per year, then put on Rejex. THen wipe down (after every flight) with washwax.

Washwax is great but doesn't work well on oxidized surfaces - at least, not for me :)
 
If you have oxidized paint, there is no miracle cure, it will require friction to remove, not chemicals.
 
I have been using collinte since Henning recommended it to me a few years back. It is extremely easy and cheap. Just remember to shake the hell out of the bottle before using it.

Besides, nothing else is going to increase the dielectric constant of your aircraft :)
 
NoHeat said:
Questions about NuFinish:

The Amazon description says it is not a wax. So what is it?

Does it make it easier to clean off bugs, the way wax does?

Some Amazon reviewers complain that chips in your paint turn white and stay that way after many washes. Is this a problem for a plane that has some little chips in the paint?

How many cans do you need to polish a four-seater single-engine plane, top and bottom?
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1. It's a sealant.
2. I wipe off bugs with detailer spray - they come right off.
3. Don't know - my plane is white and white chips are just fine.....:yes:
4. No clue...
 
I use Collenite Insulator Wax, it doesn't build up wads of white crap in all the cracks and rivet heads.
 
Yeah, this is somehow topical to me. I'm doing my annual plane wash (next week is the Smithsonian fly in). I just spent an hour cleaning the grime off the nose gear. Soft bristle brush and a whole pile of microfiber towels. Car wash and when necessary aviation simple green. Hot water helps a bit.

It will get collinited when I'm done washing her.
 
flyingron said:
Yeah, this is somehow topical to me. I'm doing my annual plane wash (next week is the Smithsonian fly in). I just spent an hour cleaning the grime off the nose gear. Soft bristle brush and a whole pile of microfiber towels. Car wash and when necessary aviation simple green. Hot water helps a bit.

It will get collinited when I'm done washing her.
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:confused::rofl::rofl::rofl: Did you try just using the Collenite to clean off the grime as well? It's got good solvents in it.
 
ok ok UNCLE ! I get it. I actually do try to learn from others. I did a bit of online research on Collinite 845. Done and done.

I don't see it discounted anywhere. Amazon includes an applicator (sponge). Big woop. Next wax party is Halloween-ish. I'll keep the NuFinish for the riding mower.

Thanks guys. :thumbsup:
 
Well I putzed around today cleaning the belly (it's been a while) with:

Aircraft grade simple green.
Some autopart store car wash concentrate.
Carbon-X
Collinite wax as a cleaner
Collinites pre-wax cleaner
Low-odor mineral spirits.


The winner was the last one. Did well on both the grease and the bugs. Also after applying a little elbow grease, the stuff I THOUGHT was oxidized paint appears to be exhaust residue. The paint is fine underneath.

I also simichrome'd the prop spinner.

I'm eating lunch now...this afternoon is waxing with 845.
 
I use WD40 in the big fogger can on bellys. It works well for everything; oil, grease, dirt, exhaust residue, etc.
 
bluerooster said:
I use WD40 in the big fogger can on bellys. It works well for everything; oil, grease, dirt, exhaust residue, etc.
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You can buy a gallon of mineral spirits for the price of a can of WD-40 and do the same job.
 
NuFinish has grit in it, no?
Collonite 845 has no grit.
Different animals...
 
I have always used Gary's Royal Satin on my airplanes I even used it as a kid on my father's airplanes. The formula has changed a bit to be used over the clear coat finishes. I used Royal satin on every surface. I would always apply the wax on top of Jetstream products boot sealant on the Malibu. Very few ice pieces left when the boots were blown.

Here's my 1985 paint last August before I let it go. I hope the new owner keeps it as clean.
 

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flyingron said:
Well I putzed around today cleaning the belly (it's been a while) with:

Aircraft grade simple green.
Some autopart store car wash concentrate.
Carbon-X
Collinite wax as a cleaner
Collinites pre-wax cleaner
Low-odor mineral spirits.


The winner was the last one.
Click to expand...

If you're cheap, like me, I use the sump'd 100LL to clean the belly, then follow with soap and water spray wash.

Probably going to die early because of it, but I've saved that $12.
 
VM&P Naptha for degreasing the belly... it evaporates quicker and more cleaner than regular cheap mineral spirits. Works especially well if you have a smoke system installed that really greases up the underside of the plane.

For wax/polish, I really like Rejex acrylic polish (http://www.rejex.com/rejex.html) it makes the paint shine glossy like it's new fresh wet paint.

Works great on the plexiglass windshield and canopy too since it has no abrasives in it... works basically just like the Aeroshell Flight Jacket Plexicoat I used to buy for that.

IMG_7318-001.JPG
 
mikegreen said:
If you're cheap, like me, I use the sump'd 100LL to clean the belly, then follow with soap and water spray wash.

Probably going to die early because of it, but I've saved that $12.
Click to expand...

I have done that in a pinch but I have two issues with it:

1. It's very dangerous both from a fire hazard and from a human toxicity hazard.

2. If you're not careful, it leaves a blue tinge on things. Fortunately my plane is a deeper shade of blue than 100LL.

Actually, mineral spirits is cheeper than Avgas, slightly and safer and cleaner.
 
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