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Goo Gone...

Piper J3

Well Known Member
Too windy to fly today so I decided to clean the large bug-catcher. Tried Nu Finish Rapid Shine Spray Polish and didn’t like it at all. For the heck of it I sprayed a little bit of Goo Gone on the wing, and Voilà, it does a nice job of removing stubborn bugs and leaves a great shine. I used a terry cloth towel for application…
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Cool Tip...

I'll have to give that a try. I have been using WD-40 for the same purpose.
 
Vinegar and water 50-50. Spray on let sit for 2 minutes then wipe off with damp cloth.....PRESTO...al clean
 
Water

I use 100% distilled water in a spray bottle with a new/clean microfiber cloth and it seems to work well.

Every few flights I come back with some of that ceramic paint protection spray, which I think helps keep the bugs from sticking.
 
Motorcycle guys tell me they use water with 15% hydrogen peroxide. Suppose to bubble and loosen the bugs for simple wipe off.
 
Another old standard is water with just a touch of detergent to break the surface tension. Works good enough on fresh bugs, but...
 
I use Lemon Pledge on painted surface leading edges with good results. Been using it on my motorcycles for 30 years. I would be afraid to use vinegar or hydrogen peroxide on aluminum..
 
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Simple Green Aviation formula is awesome for this. It would appear everyone uses something different. Lol
 
Detergent and soaps

If you use wax or wax-like products, some detergents and soaps will strip the wax.

Skylor
 
I use wash / wax blue. Seems to do well on fresh bugs and seasoned bugs. It also leaves an nice waxed look and feel and can be used for a quick once over on the entire plane if you need to shine it up a bit.
 
once you have settled on your liquid product, by far the best way to implement the cleaning is to Exchange cash with a local kid who wants to work for it.
 
Simple Green Aviation formula is awesome for this. It would appear everyone uses something different. Lol

Plus one for the blue motorsports/aviation Simple Green. I think they should call it Simple Blue though. But it does seem to soften hard, dried on bugs better than anything else I've tried. Works equally well on both male and female bugs.
 
The key point is that this is Simple Green AVIATION. Regular Simple Green is corrosive to aluminum.

I kinda wonder about that. The aviation/motorsports version, which is blue, specifically says that it does not corrode aluminum. But nowhere that I can find is there any real evidence that regular green Simple Green does corrode aluminum. I wonder if it is just marketing?
 
When I flew floats, I'd wash the plane early in the morning when the dew had made the bug guts all soft and gooey.

Also have used lemon pledge on the window of a variety of airplanes, from a Cessna 150 up to a Dash-8.

I also use Goo Gone, but to remove the glue from the part number stickers that Van's likes to put on the bare aluminum parts. The glue like to stick to everything but the sticker. Little Goo Gone followed by dish soap washes off all signs that a sticker was ever there.
 
We have a lot of citrus trees here in Arizona, and I like to fly low. After I fly, I have to use bugs to get the lemons off.
 
Next time you go flying and want to practise your superior flying skills, fly between the bugs then you won't have to clean them off the leading edges.
 
I kinda wonder about that. The aviation/motorsports version, which is blue, specifically says that it does not corrode aluminum. But nowhere that I can find is there any real evidence that regular green Simple Green does corrode aluminum. I wonder if it is just marketing?

The US Army did a bit of testing years ago. Here is one link. With that said I use the Aviation Simple Green with the Boeing Spec

http://www.chinook-helicopter.com/maintenance/issues/cleaners/cleaners.html
 
How well does Simple Blue clean the oil off the belly?

This is actually the first reason I bought the Aviation stuff because everyone on here touts it as the best for removing oil off the belly. I have not tested it yet though.
 
Oil on belly

I use Gojo the white cream, not the gritty stuff! Put it on with a paper towel and take it off with a clean one. Works great and only takes about 10 minutes to do the whole belly.
 
I've been using the Simple Green Aviation for the oily bottom of the airplane with very good results. You have adjust the dilution ratio per the instructions for optimal results.
 
Try Belly Soap from ACS. Best stuff I have ever used. Spray on, wipe off, move on. Really works. :cool:
 
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