Does anyone wash the bottom of their aircraft

After I bought my plane, I scrubbed mine down with all kinds of degreasers the first time I washed it as the previous owner apparently didn't know it had a belly. I waxed it too and since then after every other flight or so, I use the creeper and wash off the exhaust and oil film with Belly Wash and a towel. With only a few flights, it has only had time to form on the first 5 feet or so, so its easy to clean. I use Belly Wash because it works really well and leaves a shine.
 
I wash my bottom once per year (100 hours of flying) and it actually stays pretty clean. Simple Green for Aircraft full strength in a spray bottle and the oil residue almost falls off.
 
How you going to keep the dirty side down then?!?
 
Never had a shop/mechanic wash the belly in almost 8 months of ownership and 1 annual under the belt....but wife and I did wash the underside a month ago. We figure it’s good to keep if clean.
 
Glen R said:
I have a creeper and clean the belly about every 2 months. It's easier if you don't let it get out of hand. I use something appropriately named Belly Wash which is in a spray bottle and wipes off. 100LL works just as well and I have heard good things about GOJO as well.
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I use the same about every 3 months depending on how much I fly. After the purple stuff, I use the blue stuff which tends to allow it to go longer before needing the purple stuff again.
 
DesertNomad said:
I use the same about every 3 months depending on how much I fly. After the purple stuff, I use the blue stuff which tends to allow it to go longer before needing the purple stuff again.
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Hopefully, when you say "purple stuff," you're not talking about Castrol Super Clean or Purple Power. Those two are very corrosive on aluminum. Castrol will eat a hole in a piece of skin soaked in it for a week.
 
brien23 said:
Does anyone wash the bottom of their aircraft several aircraft I have noticed just out of annual have the bottom full of oil and dirt from years of not being washed.
Appendix D to Part 43 - Scope and Detail of Items (as Applicable to the Particular Aircraft) To Be Included in Annual and 100-Hour Inspections
(a) Each person performing an annual or 100-hour inspection shall, before that inspection, remove or open all necessary inspection plates, access doors, fairing, and cowling. He shall thoroughly clean the aircraft and aircraft engine.
I have noticed people do a nice job of washing the top of their planes but seem to miss the bottom.
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I used to. It wasn't fun. But gawd I miss doing it. I WANNA PLANE
 
timwinters said:
Hopefully, when you say "purple stuff," you're not talking about Castrol Super Clean or Purple Power. Those two are very corrosive on aluminum. Castrol will eat a hole in a piece of skin soaked in it for a week.
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Nope Aero Cosmetics Belly Wash.
 
The club planes now get washed "at the direction of the mx officer." So usually twice a year. Guy does a great job for ~$150 per plane.

When I was flying Candy as much as I should the creeper came out weekly.

I don't like dirty birds.
 
Clark1961 said:
Gojo is mineral spirits + surfactants so it is effective on engine oil. It doesn’t do quite as well on exhaust residue. I do like gojo because I can smear it on the belly by hand then move the plane to the birdbath and finish cleaning with water rather than wiping the cleaner off.
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Who here has a good solution for exhaust residue? I use the aux heater a lot and it leaves a black streak down the fuselage that I find is the most time consuming to remove.
 
I debated opening a plane cleaning business when I got laid off but wasn't sure if people would be willing to pay for something like that or how much to charge.
 
GRG55 said:
Who here has a good solution for exhaust residue? I use the aux heater a lot and it leaves a black streak down the fuselage that I find is the most time consuming to remove.
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For me, this stuff works well if you keep up with it. https://washwax.com/products/belly-soap-16-oz
If it's an old exhaust stain that hasn't been kept up with then it requires a lot of elbow grease.
 
Oily bellies are normally a signal that the mechanic, if he actually looks, will find thick layers of gunk in that belly under the floor. The oil seeps through the skin laps and into drain holes and whatnot, and accumulates dust, dead bugs and assorted other debris and it gradually hardens into a layer of crud that is really hard to remove, and which seals the belly so that water that gets in can't get out. Now we get corrosion of the airframe and the cables and hardware and seizing of the control system pulleys and various other eventually-expensive nasties. I find cut-off nylon ties, lost nuts and bolts and screws and washers, rivet bucktails, wire terminals---lots of stuff that has no business in there where it can foul controls.
 
If you clean it; then how will you keep the pointy end forward, the dirty side down, and stay out of the trees?
 
Twin_Flyer said:
It’s on my list to do soon. I’ll most likely wait for a rainy no-fly day to do it. Budda Belly is my product of choice.
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Thanks for the recommendation.

Here is the product he's talking about: https://planeperfect.us/products/bbb

Anyone who wants to try it can use coupon code POA_BUDDHA and get a discount on their entire order.
 
I clean our club planes pretty regularly. No one else does, and each time I wash one I get a free hour of flight time. 3 planes a month if I get around to all of them is a pretty good deal.

But yes, I clean the bellies. I use a crawler and the non abrasive Gojo for the thick oil stains that are really caked on. I have a mechanic jumpsuit and goggles that I wear. I wear latex gloves and rub the gojo in and let it sit for a little bit, then wipe it all off with a cheap car washing sponge that will most likely get thrown away after. I use dawn for the not so thick oil stains. That wasn't my choice, the club buys a ton of it so why not.
 
I used GoJo once - it worked well, but it was incredibly messy, so I plan to find something else to use.

I guess I should try Buddha Belly or the Aero Cosmetics Belly Wash.
 
Ehh...think I'm gonna order some stuff from Plane Perfect and give it a shot. I already have leather cleaner, interior cleaner, and more polish/wax/sealants than I could ever use. That said, I think I am going to try out "The Essentials" package. Thanks for the code.

EDIT: Placed an order for The Essentials.
@rwellner98
 
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Ronbonjovi said:
But yes, I clean the bellies. I use a crawler and the non abrasive Gojo for the thick oil stains that are really caked on. I have a mechanic jumpsuit and goggles that I wear. I wear latex gloves and rub the gojo in and let it sit for a little bit, then wipe it all off with a cheap car washing sponge that will most likely get thrown away after.
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CC268 said:
I used GoJo once - it worked well, but it was incredibly messy, so I plan to find something else to use.
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You guys are doing it wrong! GoGo (or Goop...it's the same same) isn't messy at all if you:

1. Get a creeper, a big wad of paper towels (I'm talking like 6 or 8) and a tub of GoJo/Goop.

2. Get on the creeper, grab the wad of paper towels, and smear a thick coat of GoJo on the belly from one end to the other. I usually use a full tub, or close to it. Keep your "scrubbing hand" above your head so any excess GoJo that drips misses you. With practice, you'll get a good feel for how much gojo to "grab" with the paper towels and won't have globs dripping off of the towel. Or, if you do, they'll be few and far between.

3. Let the belly baste in the GoJo as you wash the remainder of the plane, do the wings first and when you get to the fuselage, do it from tail to nose. This way the GoJo stays on the belly for the longest time possible...especially towards the nose where it's dirtiest.

4. When you're done washing the rest of the plane, scrub the belly with a car wash brush with a handle! You know, one of these:

7D12C2DD-3284-4541-9891-DC7B7E4FDEC6.jpeg
This keeps you out from under the nastiness.

5. After you've scrubbed the belly with the brush, rinse it well.

6. Get back on the creeper with WD40 or Awesome or Simple Green Aviation and touch up what the GoJo missed.

Done. And NOT messy! My belly quite seriously typically looks like:

2012-5-6 006.jpg

2012-5-6 007.jpg
 
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timwinters said:
You guys are doing it wrong! GoGo (or Goop...it's the same same) isn't messy at all if you:

1. Get a creeper, a big wad of paper towels (I'm talking like 6 or 8) and a tub of GoJo/Goop.

2. Get on the creeper, grab the wad of paper towels, and smear a thick coat of GoJo on the belly from one end to the other. I usually use a full tub, or close to it. Keep your "scrubbing hand" above your head so any excess GoJo that drips misses you. With practice, you'll get a good feel for how much gojo to "grab" with the paper towels and won't have globs dripping off of the towel. Or, if you do, they'll be few and far between.

3. Let the belly baste in the GoJo as you wash the remainder of the plane, do the wings first and when you get to the fuselage, do it from tail to nose. This way the GoJo stays on the belly for the longest time possible...especially towards the nose where it's dirtiest.

4. When you're done washing the rest of the plane, scrub the belly with a car wash brush with a handle! You know, one of these:

View attachment 62756
This keeps you out from under the nastiness.

5. After you've scrubbed the belly with the brush, rinse it well.

6. Get back on the creeper with WD40 or Awesome or Simple Green Aviation and touch up what the GoJo missed.

Done. And NOT messy!
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Yea this is basically what I did. In fact almost identical except I didn’t do step 6. Due to the Arizona heat, I applied the GoJo while in my hangar. Ended up with a bunch of it dripping onto the hangar floor. Probably would have died of heat stroke if I did this outside of the hangar haha. Unfortunately, the wash bay is all the way on the west side of the airport, so it isn't very convenient for me to do it while in the wash bay. I'm always rushed as it is in the wash bay since there seems to always be someone waiting on me. That is the one thing about KDVT that is a bit frustrating. Only one wash bay on the south side of the airport.

So...it would be nice to have a simple spray on product at this point. I am hoping this Buddha Belly stuff works well.

Ideally I would do the washing in the cooler months...but our annual is always due sometime in the summer, so I end up doing it around then.
 
ChrisK said:
Last time I washed the belly I crawled under after I was done and it still looked horrible.
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My Tiger was like that until I sold it. I'd kill myself using most of the items professed around here ... then my wife found some product at Home Depot that was safe on aluminum and MAN it looked brand effing new under there! Hated selling it!
 
danhagan said:
My Tiger was like that until I sold it. I'd kill myself using most of the items professed around here ... then my wife found some product at Home Depot that was safe on aluminum and MAN it looked brand effing new under there! Hated selling it!
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You're gonna make me ask, aren't you?
 
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