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Plexus vs. Pledge - my test results

lostpilot28

Well Known Member
I know this is a fairly meaningless topic in the grand scheme of things, but I thought I'd post my results of a 6-month long test.

I had about 1/3rd of a can of Plexus left and was about to buy more and thought I'd try using Pledge instead. I clean the windscreen before each flight and used Pledge on the passenger side, Plexus on the pilot side.

After about 6 months (yesterday) the Plexus can was empty, and I will not buy any more (unless long term results show otherwise). Pledge cleaned as quickly as Plexus, and the visibility on both sides of the windscreen were the same. Minor scractches were no better or worse with either product.

I'm going to save $16 + shipping and use furniture polish from now on.
 
This is hardly meaningless. If I can save money on a critical issue like windshield cleaning, that is good. I should probably google it but are you certain that there are no adverse effects from using pledge?
 
The flight school I did my primary training at used Pledge exclusively. There was always a can in the little fuel truck we used and the windscreens on the four airplanes they had looked great. My pet peeve was a dirty windscreen. The fleet that I currently rent from uses Pledge as well.

Now for a second opinion. What type of cloth are you using?
 
Microfiber

+1 for the Pledge, and I use a good microfiber cloth. I like one of the "fuzzier" drying towels available in the automotive section at Target, Wal-Mart, etc., or a really nice one like I use on the car from Griot's Garage

http://www.griotsgarage.com/product...ine+cloths+set+of+3.do?sortby=ourPicks&page=2.

Not so crazy about the yellow ones from Costco. At the very least, use a 100% cotton towel without polyester stitching on the edge.

Kind of expensive, but I HATE scratches. Whatever you use, for goodness sake remove the tag from the edge of the towel. It will scratch.
When you wash it, don't use any fabric softener in either the washer or the dryer. It will leave streaks.

Picky, yes, but I also drive my wife nuts by vacuuming in straight lines so there are no zig-zags in the carpet :D
 
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I use only microfiber cloths with the tag removed. ;)

Ron, I really wish I knew if there were any adverse long-term effects, but as Tyler mentioned, there doesn't appear to be. My short test seemed to validate that Plexus (for me, at least) is a waste of almost $20.

:)
 
Wally Scott

I have heard people bad-mouth Pledge, but .....

Wally Scott was a soaring legend from Odessa, Texas. We are talking about 7,000 hours in gliders. I recall one time at a contest where his wife Boots gave a whole seminar on how to take care of that big ole ASW-20 canopy. The short and dirty as I remember it was some vinegar followed by Pledge. Lemon or not, may have been the controversy; it seems like she said Lemon Pledge? That was before micro-fiber. I think she recommended cotton diapers.
 
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I dunno. I react to the smell of Plexus much like Pavlov's dog reacted to a bell. To me, the smell of Plexus means I'm going to fly soon and that makes me happy! The smell of Pledge reminds me of house cleaning. $20 might be a small price to pay in order to not think about housework! :D
 
I have heard people bad-mouth Pledge, but .....

Wally Scott was a soaring legend from Odessa, Texas. We are talking about 7,000 hours in gliders. I recall one time at a contest where his wife Boots gave a whole seminar on how to take care of that big ole ASW-20 canopy. The short and dirty as I remember it was some vinegar followed by Pledge. Lemon or not, may have been the controversy; it seems like she said Lemon Pledge? That was before micro-fiber. I think she recommended cotton diapers.

I remember Lemon too. The glider pilots wouldn't use anything else.

It also is a repellent for field mice and I saw it used a lot at Truckee...

There is something different in the Lemon version... probably not even lemon, but some sort of citrus cleaner...:rolleyes:
 
While at saving money, I have tried lots of microfiber cloths, and the best ones (and the cheapest by far) are good old Harbor Freight Aviation Dept.
 
Sure makes the bugs come the leading edges easier. Just water and a microfiber cloth and they wipe right off followed by reapplying pledge.
 
Pledge

We've used Pledge on the windscreen of our S-2A for close on 30 years with good results and no negatives. Automotive polish on leading edges has removed some of the red paint and there is white showing through. The smell of Pledge makes me think of flying, so perhaps it's what you are used to!
 
I've used lemon pledge for as long as I can remember without any problems. Don't use regular Pledge, the kind that used to come in brown cans. It leaves a buildup which is hard to get off.

I also do not like the Costco micro fiber cloth that comes in bundles. It leaves pieces of fiber behind, even when washed.

I have also had good luck with waterless car wash. Even when used on a fairly dirty windshield it will not scratch. I have also heard that Turtle Wax Ice Detailer works well but I have not tried it.
 
Lemon Pledge forever

As long as I can remember (60+years of flying), started using lemon Pledge on my Champ, and 15 airplanes since. Some of the "specialty" products seem easier to wipe off, but certainly not worth the cost. Leading edges are also easily treated and help keep, and take, bugs off.
 
In the Harley Davidson world Lemon Pledge is very common for all parts of the bike. I use it on the fiberglass fairing, chrome parts, windscreen, painted tanks and fiberglass saddle bags. Works great and no complaints about use on the windscreen. May or may not be the same material as the windscreen on the RV's.
 
I use my old white socks

with Lemon Pledge after one last wash of course. Not only on the plexiglass but on the metal too. Seems to make the bugs easier to wash off.
 
Watch out for silicone

I think, but am not sure, Pledge might have silicone, or a silicone based oil in it. If you plan on ever re-painting, depending on the product used to paint, you might have problems if any silicone is not completely removed first.
 
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I think, but am not sure, Pledge might have silicone, or a silicone based oil in it. If you plan on ever re-painting, depending on the product used to paint, you might have problems if any silicone is not completely removed first.

And it seems I recall reading where the propellant in the Pledge aerosol cans doesn't play nice with plexi. But there sure are a lot of satisfied Pledge users out there....may have to drag out that can I have in the hangar and give it another go.
 
SC Johnson says Pledge furniture polish aerosols all have silicone (dimethicone and a siloxane.). The propellant is nitrogen.

http://www.scjohnson.com/en/product...-comment.aspx?title=Does-Pledge-Have-Silicone

Notably, the regular Pledge products don't list alcohols, but the non-silicone Pledge Multi Surface does, and I see that we should avoid alcohols on polycarbonate.

And before you complain too much about Plexus prices, here is the Cadillac of products:
http://sumnerlabs.com/all-products?dir=asc
 
pledge

Ive used plexus and lemon pledge but the best Ive found so far is Meguiars Cleaner Wax the pilot in the hanger next to me told me about it and uses it on his 30k jet wind screens its the Cleaner Wax not the Wax product.
Bob
 
Pledge

I've been using Pledge on my windshields since 1981 and I've never had a problem. Plus one for Pledge.
 
I cant remember if I read this, or it was written somewhere, but I remember this topic coming up in rainy day conversations around the airport. Pledge always has a strong following. I remember, though, a comment that a hose and a six pack was just as useful. You hose down the plane, then sit down in a shady spot and drink 3 of the beers. Then you get up and hose the plane down again. During the 3-beer soaking time the bugs and bug splatter soaks off and comes off easily enough. Drinking the remaining 3 beers was optional, as I recall.
 
Bug Wash!

My hangar mate just bought a spray bottle of some stuff called Bug Wash.

So I tried it. It works very well for softening bug splatter. But the thing that cracks me up the most is the label. It says, "special bisexual formula" "removes bugs of both sexes equally well".

REALLY!?!? I can't imagine there being enough of any kind of sex-specific hormones or anything left in dry bug splatter that it could possibly matter whether there were specific enzymes or something that would dissolve male bugs and female bugs differently. They gotta be pulling our legs.

If it were not for the second qualifying statement, I would have assumed that they meant that I can remove the bugs just as easily as my wife can:D

Note of caution though, I have not tried it on plexiglass, only my Urethane paint. So, in that sense, I appologize for the thread drift, since the topic was cleaning plexiglass. But I thought this was relevant and interesting enough:cool:
 
On the subject of cost I clean my canopy before almost every flight. Its a bug magnet. I have been flying the aircraft for 22 months and have 200 hours on it since purchase. I am still on my first can of Plexis. I bought two cans so figure I am good for at least another 2 years. I think were talking pennies here over time.

George
 
I have used Pledge in the brown cans on my old C152, 177A, 7ECA and 7GCAA since 1980 and no problems. Funny thing is back in those days they said do not use the Lemon Pledge, as it will scratch. Then I read somewhere on here a while back is not to use any Pledge on the bubble canopy like on my RV4 so I have been buying Plexus. But based on what I have read here neither Lemon no Regular Pledge has been a problem.

After every flight I used Pledge to wipe the bugs off of the plane after each flight. Cheap and fast cleaning.
 
PLEDGE FOR CANOPIES

I managed a flying club for many years. We used Pledge for the windshield and the wing leading edge after bug removal. Most bugs would fall off and break their neck! :D
 
About the microfiber towels.....

My experience has been that using a synthetic fiber towel on a synthetic canopy produces alot of static electricity and that is in combination with a cleaner.

I use a terry cloth towel or a cloth diaper exclusively and have good results.

As always, YMMV.....

Glenn Wilkinson
 
Plexis vs Pledge

I used lemon Pledge for years in the 80's and 90's on the canopy as well as the leading edges of the wings, cowling and wheel pants. It made the bugs come off easier. Many others did this as I saw from coast to coast. Lemon pledge was preferred for reasons I don't remember. It worked fine. I have also read several article that said there were some issues with it. I don't remember what they were, but I did change to plexis because of it. So many use lemon pledge, and other methods that work I think that it is really user preference. Use what ever you like if it works for you.

In the later 90's I found out the military was using plexis. (save the jokes)

I have used plexis after talking with several military pilots that were currently on the flight decks.

As for saving money, the cost is minimal as a can last quite a while. Near a year for me.

I will stay with plexis for now. Proved and simple, although it is old and there may be something that actually is better now.
 
Here is what I have been doing for the past 4 years with my C-150...
As soon as I land and push the plane into the hangar, I wipe the windscreen with a California duster. I have two....one exclusively for the glass and one for the paint. I never interchange them. The California duster will remove and dust or dirt that may scratch the window. At this point the only thing left on the window will be bugs. Next I take a terry cloth and saturate it with plain water. I have a spray bottle for this. I then wipe the window in a vertical back and forth motion to remove the bugs. The water re-hydrates them and they come off. Next I take a micro fiber cloth and dry the window. Now I spray the micro fiber cloth with a Pledge knock off found at the dollar store for a dollar per can. I use the orange scented variety. Again vertical motion as I apply the wax to the window. Finally a third micro fiber towel is used to buff the window to a streak free super clean state. The wax left from this process helps the bugs come off next time. I have three separate clothes all located in their own plastic box. After doing this for four years, I can say my windows look bran new and have no scratches. The whole process only takes a few minutes. When I get an RV, I will use this same method. I have a similar process used to clean the airframe but that is another story for another time. My Paint looks bran new as well and I never actually wash the plane (but I do spend about an hour cleaning it after every flight. No bugs left behind I always say).
Dom
 
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I've been using Pledge (plain, lemon, orange, whatever was available) on my airplane's windshield for 30 years with no apparent ill effects. Just be aware that the makers of Pledge are under no obligation not to reformulate to something not acrylic- or polycarbonate- friendly.

I've found that water works just about as well, as long as you give it a few minutes to soak in. (I'm a slow drinker; I think my windshield would be ready after one beer:D) My favorite brand is morning dew...
 
Anyone have an opinion on Novus as an alternative to Plexus, etc?

John


I have used Novus off and on for the past 15-years. Water is the other item that I have used a lot for cleaning plexiglass canopy.

I always use a "Microfiber" cloth or an old Cotton Tee shirt. Microfiber is my preference.
 
No question lemon Pledge is widely used and certainly not harmful under any condition. My understanding though is that it never fully cures/dries. Like most of you I've tried almost everything over time and have landed on the following products as my regimen...

Water & microfiber cloth - The best thing for removing bugs from leading edges and windscreens. Remember, water is the "universal solvent".

Turtlewas Express Shine - One of those automotive quick detailers, works well for shinining up everything AFTER the bugs are off, is less effective that water at getting bugs off. Works well for plexi or paint or props.

210 - Another poster mentioned this stuff above, but it is simply the best plastic product I've tried. It is more widely used over in the soaring community. Click here for more info.

I've used Plexus too and have found the 210 better in every regard, it's probably more expensive though.
 
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Used this on all the biz jets when I was on the line at KSJC 20 years ago. Has worked great for me on all my personal aircraft out of habit.

One time they had 5 of us using this stuff to completely wash every surface of a Sabreliner and a G-IV...they both came out looking good!

$5-7 a can.

Cleaner_Can_White.jpg


http://www.pristaerospace.com/cleaner/index.html
 
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