Degreasing the belly of a 182

denverpilot

denverpilot

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It takes one full tub of Goop non-pumice hand cleaner and 5 gallons of water.

About halfway through the first pass...

aee8d094-adce-c87f.jpg


Now going for an evening flight to get it dirty again. :)
 
P.S. By first pass I mean before "rinse #2" where the scrub brush and I became well acquainted while we got all that crap around all the rivets out from around them.
 
I can see now it's just some reflections, but the area around the inspection plates looks really well scrubbed at a quick glance. I thought for a second you used the stuff with the pumice there.
 
Mineral spirits and a long-handled brush is a cheap and user-friendly alternative.
 
Nate,

I too use go-Jo (or Goop...they're about yhe same) but I do it when I wash the entire plane. First, using a creeper, I smear go-Jo on the belly with a wad of paper towels. Yes, it takes a full tub. Then I wash the plane. Wings first, then tail feathers, then the sides and top of the fuselage last. By this time, the go-Jo has been soaking the belly for 30 to 45 minutes. A quick hit with a automotive wash brush on a long handle is all it takes and that can be done without mimicking a contortionist.

I just can't imagine anything simpler.
 
Wow, how many hours of build up is that?
 
About eight months. Should have had more baths last fall but weather didn't cooperate.

Someone mentioned 409. I don't think I'd use that but we've had that thread. :) ;)

Yes she needs a "full" bath. Got started too late today to wander over to the wash rack.

Finally got a really good look at where the battery leaked two batteries ago and discolored the white paint almost all the way to the tail from the battery box drain. Bummer. Some blistering and now there's a small spot where aluminum is showing at a seam.

Going to have to figure out how to protect that from corrosion. Luckily, it's dry dry dry here. Except when taxiing in slush in winter and throwing that nastiness all over the underside. Luckily the airport isn't using any salt or other deicers that I know of. The Magnesium Chloride we use on roads here just SUCKS on car finishes and eats stuff underneath.

Going to add that paintless gap to the "discuss with A&P" list for Annual at the end of the month.

Night flight with the Mrs to "celebrate". KAPA-KBJC-KAPA to see the city lights and Downtown. Beautiful night.

The Fundraiser-In-Chief is all but closing down DEN for the next two days. TFR hell. Really, just teleconference and have them call your 800 number with a credit card, dude. It's cheaper and easier for all of us. ;)

"You too can support a President who's needy for the low low price of $1000/plate! Operators are standing by. Call now!"

http://tfr.faa.gov/save_pages/detail_2_5389.html

Biggest Presidential TFR I've seen here yet with the side trip to hippie land, cough, Boulder. Ugh. Couple of VH-60N's were buzzing around this morning.
 
Cap'n Jack said:
I can see now it's just some reflections, but the area around the inspection plates looks really well scrubbed at a quick glance. I thought for a second you used the stuff with the pumice there.
Click to expand...

Yeah just the camera in the iPhone.

Medium bristled Stanley scrub brush and some water with a touch of mild soap in it to get all the crap out from around the rivets and inspection plates. And a lot of careful cleaning of the transponder and DME antennas. Almost whacked my head into the transponder antenna. There is still some grime trapped around inspection plates. If I get crazy, I'll remove them sometime and clean under the edges and put 'em back on.

For now we'll call it "waterproofing". Haha. :nono:

Noticed that when they removed the ADF antenna on the belly they matched the white paint on the cover very well. Always like to see that.

Made sure all the little drain holes were clear. Lots of those little beasties.
 
Sorry it's crooked but here's a shot after pass #2 before final rinse and dry.

4b94241c-dc57-5f84.jpg


Not perfect but still needs a "full" topside wash and wax and the light crud will all run down underneath anyway during that -- so there will be one more mild belly scrubbing and drying session before this "cleaning round" is complete.

Then Annual. Then fly a bunch. Then start over again on it. :)
 
denverpilot said:
Sorry it's crooked but here's a shot after pass #2 before final rinse and dry.

4b94241c-dc57-5f84.jpg


Not perfect but still needs a "full" topside wash and wax and the light crud will all run down underneath anyway during that -- so there will be one more mild belly scrubbing and drying session before this "cleaning round" is complete.

Then Annual. Then fly a bunch. Then start over again on it. :)
Click to expand...
Needs wax.
 
And if you're going to let it get that bad, consider painting your plane a dark color.
There's some advantages to a Navy blue aircraft.
 
Nice layer of grease will keep the water away. Good anticorrosive. Grease works the same as wax.
 
Looks good! Purple power cuts grease pretty well. I didn't see the 409 thread. If 409 is bad Purple power might not be good for an aircraft, but it will clean a greasy diesel well.
 
flyingron said:
And if you're going to let it get that bad, consider painting your plane a dark color.
There's some advantages to a Navy blue aircraft.
Click to expand...

Too many photography friends shooting virtually every weekend, everything that comes and goes at KAPA.

I think they'd capture even how dirty a blue belly was with their 500mm lenses on cropped-sensor DSLRs! ;)
 
Geico266 said:
Safety glasses, 409, a box of disposible rags, and a creeper.
Click to expand...

That is way way too much trouble.

My aunt is the expert on cleaning airplanes. No one is better at it than she is. She said the secret is a nephew with a bucket and a bunch of rags while she's sitting comfortably in an Adirondack chair under the shade tree a mile away with a big glass of tea and a good book is the most efficient way to clean an airplane...and cut the runway..and clean the hangar...and mow the yard...and change the windsock...and...clear rocks out of the road to the runway......hey, wait doggone a minute here, why was I so tired and wet every time that plane got cleaned??
 
Foxhole said:
Looks good! Purple power cuts grease pretty well. I didn't see the 409 thread. If 409 is bad Purple power might not be good for an aircraft, but it will clean a greasy diesel well.
Click to expand...

I'm not exactly sure what "purple power" is but Castrol makes a purple cleaner that will EAT A HOLE in a piece of aluminum skin when the skin is soaked in the cleaner for a week.

PLEASE!

Don't use ANYTHING on your plane that you haven't performed the "soak for a week" test on.

Or if you do, when you decide to sell it, at least warn the potential buyers of how much hidden corrosion your plane has.
 
timwinters said:
I'm not exactly sure what "purple power" is but Castrol makes a purple cleaner that will EAT A HOLE in a piece of aluminum skin when the skin is soaked in the cleaner for a week.

PLEASE!

Don't use ANYTHING on your plane that you haven't performed the "soak for a week" test on.

Or if you do, when you decide to sell it, at least warn the potential buyers of how much hidden corrosion your plane has.
Click to expand...

I do see you point about corrosion and frankly had not thought of that. I work in a Chem plant and make 50% caustic. I know about chemical metal reactions but had not considered and over the counter cleaner would be harmful to a aircraft. I have no idea if this stuff would be harmful to aircraft but it does do a good job on my truck and boat. How could you tell if this would be harmful to an air frame?

Wal Mart
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Aiken-Purple-Power-Degreaser-1gal/16778256

Manufacturer site
http://www.clean-rite.com/purplepower_industrial_strength_cleaner_degreaser.html

MSDS
http://www.clean-rite.com/msds/Purple Power 2010.pdf
 
It appears I'm the first one to mention WASH WAX-ALL. It may not be "rinse-off easy," but to clean and wax at the same time --- and results are noteworthy.

HR
 
We use dri wash n guard. Won't degrease a belly but does keep it cleaner longer, and works wonders on the rest of the plane
 
Skylane81E said:
Drop a sheet of aluminum into it and soak
Click to expand...

Exactly...for a week. Make sure it's very dull also so you can see if the cleaner etches.

Cleaners I've tested:

Aviation simple green...very slight etching after a week.

Go-Jo & Goop...no etching whatsoever.

Scrubbing Bubbles...definite etching. Turns very dull skin into very bright in a week.

Castrol purple cleaner (whatever it's called)...destroys the aluminum in a week. Ate a hole through it and what remained was black and corroded and not even recognizable as aluminum skin.

There were probably four or five others but those are the only ones I can recall right now.


Also, it's my understanding that the "soak for a week" is a military standard. Don't recall exactly where I heard that though so it may be bogus.
 
I use Meguire's Cleaner Wax. Rub it on the grimey belly, let dry to a light haze and buff off with clean rags. The oil comes off and the belly is waxed. No water running down my arm. Works well for me. The bottom of my plane is half metal and half fabric.

Barb
 
Degreasing the belly of a 182 is much the same as degreasing the belly of a Warrior. The best procedure, and to get the best results, I have found, is to hire someone else to do it.

-John
 
I'm new to the cleaning of my plane....
Does anyone know if spray-nine is safe for the areas that get grease. Ie. belly and near some other low surfaces.
Bob
 
I have a de-greaser spigot under each wing of the airplane.

Good de-greaser can be found at most airports for $5-6/gallon. I buy several gallons of the stuff at a time.
 
You Cessna people make me sick. I'll hire, at somewhat above minimum wage, a team of midgets to clean the belly of my Arrow.
 
All seriousness aside, I really don't mind cleaning the airplane's belly.

It helps that I have a nice hangar, with carpet under the airplane, and a mechanic's creeper to roll around from place to place.
Hand-held Nav/Com tuned into the tower, another radio station in the background, and a refrigerator close by.

Just another reason to hang out at the airport.......
 
Non Compos Mentis said:
All seriousness aside, I really don't mind cleaning the airplane's belly.

It helps that I have a nice hangar, with carpet under the airplane, and a mechanic's creeper to roll around from place to place.
Hand-held Nav/Com tuned into the tower, another radio station in the background, and a refrigerator close by.

Just another reason to hang out at the airport.......
Click to expand...

Sounds like the ultimate "mancave".....

Can we come visit .:dunno:;)
 
Cutnrun said:
I'm new to the cleaning of my plane....
Does anyone know if spray-nine is safe for the areas that get grease. Ie. belly and near some other low surfaces.
Bob
Click to expand...

Quick rule of theumb - if it has any citrus or citrus smell, do not use, stay away from it!

There's an aviation version of Simple Green, do a search here for the many threads about washing airplane.
 
WD-40. Best and easiest thing to clean a dirty belly. Obviously non-corrosive as well. Leaves a nice shine left behind.
 
I've heard a few anecdotes that a cleaner plane flies a knot or three faster... Any truth to that?
 
You guys are doing it all wrong.

Miguel, limpiar la parte inferior de mi avion, por favor.
 
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