Does AvGas 100LL hurt paint?

kicktireslightfires

kicktireslightfires

Pre-takeoff checklist
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kicktireslightfires
So you overfill your wing tanks and a bunch of 100LL goes rolling down your wing. Do you immediately grab a bottle of water and rinse it down? Or is 100LL much less volatile to paint that car gasoline is?
 
It may stain it blue, but it doesn't seem to attack the paint... though it might depend on the paint chemistry.
 
Well, it is a solvent, but as mentioned above, the dye is going to do more than the fuel is, which isn’t that much if you wipe it down.
 
Given the number of people here that claim to clean their belly with avgas, I'm gonna go with "no".
 
If it did most of us would have bare wings on top from over fills.
The glaze I use removes the blue stains.
I go fly to dry off my spilled gas.
 
It will eat fresh wax off:confused:.I think Grumman Yankees have one of the dumbest fill ports and very easy to overfill and make a mess.I always waited till I had I nice and shined up till I spilled a bunch
 
Jaminky said:
I think Grumman Yankees have one of the dumbest fill ports and very easy to overfill and make a mess.I always waited till I had I nice and shined up till I spilled a bunch
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Perhaps that's true among certified planes. Among experimentals someone thought it was a good idea to put the fuel fill through the windscreen ...

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The quick answer is no. Avgas is not an agressive solvent compared to automotive gasoline. Avgas will not dissolve a Styrofoam cup, but automotive gas will.
 
BTW water won't do anything to clean off avgas or any other non-polar liquid... think about how water and avgas separate in your fuel sample.

Avgas is made up of very volatile molecules and evaporates very quickly, as mentioned leaving the blue dye behind. Car gas has many more longer, heavier molecules that tend to not evaporate quickly, giving them time to sit on and attack the paint.

Best bet is to grab a towel and wipe it up. I've been known to use my sleeve at times. If it's a lot (as in running on the ground) I move the plane before starting... just in case.

FYI the fuel pump at TAZ is VERY fast and hard to shut off.....
 
Daleandee said:
Perhaps that's true among certified planes. Among experimentals someone thought it was a good idea to put the fuel fill through the windscreen ...
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Hah! The tank on my Hatz is in the upper wing center section where you can't see into it. Overfill it and it runs down the back of the wing, off the trailing edge and right onto the seat.
 
Dana said:
It may stain it blue, but it doesn't seem to attack the paint... though it might depend on the paint chemistry.
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That's the advantage of flying a dark blue plane. I didn't really notice the CorrosionX weeping out the seams much either.
 
Jaminky said:
It will eat fresh wax off:confused:.I think Grumman Yankees have one of the dumbest fill ports and very easy to overfill and make a mess.I always waited till I had I nice and shined up till I spilled a bunch
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That tubular wing spar will fill up quick near the end, for sure! Even in the AA-5 the last gallon comes up fast.
 
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