Cleaning the smashed bugs off

avongil

avongil

Pre-takeoff checklist
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Sep 26, 2014
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AG
What do you clean the bugs off the leading edges with? I find a sponge and car wash solution does not work well at all.

Does anyone have a favorite spray they carry with them? I am thinking about carrying a 20% mix of aviation simple green in a spray bottle with me to speed up cleaning the leading edges.
 
I use aviation simple green in a very large spray bottle. Mix up a batch once a year maybe. Clean wiping cloths only.
 
I usually just use water.
I spray all leading edges. Let them soak while I get a microfiber cloth, then wipe off leading edges. If stubborn bugs, quick spray as I go along.

I think the key is preventative - in other words keep a good coat of wax or other slick sealant on the surfaces.
 
As "wax", I use Rejex polymer on the plane. After landing, I spray the leading edges, nose and windshield with water. Give it a minute and the bugs wipe off effortlessly with a rag. The key is to clean them immediately after you land.

Let them dry and harden for a few days, then it takes a little longer presoak, but they will still wipe off the wings. The windshield takes more effort unless the Rejex is applied more frequently. The coating on the leading edges and nose lasts months if you don't use anything more abrasive than a water spray and soft rag.
 
Ok thanks! It's a club plane that was sitting outside and the paint is a tad oxidized. Will carry around a spray bottle of simple green until we get the time to wax her properly.
 
If it's waxed it makes it quite easy. Any quick detailed and a microfiber will take care of it easily.
 
Detailing spray. Let it soak a minute.
 
For the edges and whatnot
900-696_A.jpg

http://www.jpcycles.com/product/900...e=&network=g&gclid=COGmvunO0dMCFci2wAodW-UC6Q

And lemon pledge for the glass.


I find both make quick work of it and leave it slick enough that it's also easier next go around.
 
I am a huge fan of Mothers products (even though they're focused on the automotive market.) I use the Mothers Waterless Wash and Wax for most cleaning, or Mothers R3 (Racing Rubber Remover) for tougher stuff along with a clean microfiber towel. If the bugs are really on there, I'll break out the clay bar, though Mothers Claybar 2.0 really works well without the standard clay bar hassle. (I use the Waterless Wash and Wax as the lubricant for the Claybar 2.0)
 
Timbeck2 said:
Just water and a wash cloth. Keep it waxed and that's all you'll need.
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This as long as you keep it waxed and do it after every flight. I have a rag I keep wet and wipe down the leading edges after every flight.
 
I use Collinite Liquid Insulator Wax every few months and then a post-flight wipedown with a water/Simple Green spray. Bugs come off easily.
 
mr_happyland said:
I use Collinite Liquid Insulator Wax every few months and then a post-flight wipedown with a water/Simple Green spray. Bugs come off easily.
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A full wax job every few months?!

Why?
 
Because the Simple Green takes off the wax. :dunno:

Thanks for the tip above, I was wondering what does best on the whatnot. :idea:
 
Clean the bugs off, then spray the leading edges with a car wash product (ZipWax) that has wax and soap you have mixed with water in a garden sprayer.

After each flight clean the leading edge with the ZipWax solution. The bugs come off easy and the leading edge is re-waxed every time you clean the leading edge.
 
For typical day to day, Lemon Pledge. It's "slick" enough to help keep the leading edge wax job slippery so bugs just come right off easily.

After the true wax job wears out, the bugs usually stick harder.

At that point, sopping wet (with just water) towels laid over the leading edge for about 15-30 minutes depending on bug hardness, and they'll soak up the water and come right off... but that's done during a new wash/wax or it's just going to happen again the next flight.
 
I wonder how well a pet Lizard would work here.
 
Go flyin' in the rain, just flyin' in the rain
What a glorious feeling I'm happy again
I'm laughing at clouds so dark above
The sun's in my heart and I'm ready for love
Let the stormy clouds chase everyone from the place
Come on with the rain, I've a smile on my face
I'll walk down the lane with a happy refrain
And flyin' just flyin' in the rain

Why am I smilin' and why do I sing?
Why does December seem sunny as Spring?
Why do I get up each morning to start happy
And get up with joy in my heart?
Why is each new task a trifle to do?
Because I am living a life full of you

I'm flyin' in the rain, just flyin' in the rain
What a glorious feeling I'm happy again
I'm laughing at clouds so dark above
The sun's in my heart and I'm ready for love
Let the stormy clouds chase everyone from the place
Come on with the rain, I've a smile on my face
I'll walk down the lane with a happy refrain
And flyin' just flyin' in the rain
 
If done immediately after the flight, I find that leaving a light mist of water to soak for a few minutes allows me to take most off with a microfiber cloth or a detailing towel quite easily. If not, a detailing spray (I use Griotts Speed Shine) or if more cleaning power is required a light spray of eOx http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/cspages/eoxacquart.php
 
I use water and time. I keep a spray bottle in the hangar and spritz the bug-covered parts with water. I go do other tasks. After a while I spritz again if necessary. Then I wipe off the bugs and apply a car wax. The car wax seems to reduce the amount of wiping required the next time.
 
^^^^ I knew that one would come up. Reputation is the stuff works well, but a bit spendy.
 
Yeah, Wing Wipe is awesome and I still use it. Wish it were about $2 cheaper, but it works great so I keep at it. Eyes Outside works better than anything I've tried, and is priced right too. Buddha Belly is also "best in class" and reasonably priced.
 
denverpilot said:
For typical day to day, Lemon Pledge. It's "slick" enough to help keep the leading edge wax job slippery so bugs just come right off easily.
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I use Pledge too. I make a pass giving the big bugs a shot of spray on the left wing, nose, right wing, stabilator/fin, and by the time I get back to the left wing, the bugs are disintegrating, thanks to the citric acid. Then it is easy to just wipe them away with a microfiber towel.
 
Should be more of a stealth purchase too. Boxes that scream aviation raise red flags that need not be raised at times. New plan - going to amazon Wash Wax All and Sprayway ammonia free glass cleaner.
 
denverpilot said:
For typical day to day, Lemon Pledge. It's "slick" enough to help keep the leading edge wax job slippery so bugs just come right off easily.

After the true wax job wears out, the bugs usually stick harder.

At that point, sopping wet (with just water) towels laid over the leading edge for about 15-30 minutes depending on bug hardness, and they'll soak up the water and come right off... but that's done during a new wash/wax or it's just going to happen again the next flight.
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That's more or less what we do on the CAP planes.

We keep a few cans of lemon pledge in the back, and give them a solid wash/wax once every six months. It helps to have an army of cadets around.

The plane is expected to be kept presentable. Members of the public show up all the time wanting photos in front of the plane. While they don't usually seem to care much about the plane's 5 o'clock shadow, it's a bit embarrassing when that happens....

And it's definitely bug season now. I just flew a set of cadet rides Sunday and had quite a lot of splats to clean off. At least the ramp guy helped out with the windows, despite being really busy (it was a nice inversion day with SMOOTH air, a bit warm, and 50+ miles visibility -- and everyone in the region was out flying).
 
Another vote for Wash Wax All. Works great on both biplane and Twin Beech
 
Pledge...works on windows too!
 
After a flight, I sometimes have a brief moment of silence for all the bugs that I just massacred, thinking about all the bug children that are now orphaned. Then I go have a beer at the bar.
 
Use good car wash stuff. Adams wash pad and shampoo will get them off.
 
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