Robert M

Well Known Member
I was talking to a fellow motorcyclist and the topic of spattered bugs on the windscreen came up. He said he used Pledge furniture polish. Said it works great and adds a protective film to help remove future bugs not to mention the fine scratches get filled.

Anyone tried this on an RV canopy?
 
Pledge

I prefer Plexus. You'll probably get a lot of opinions as to what Pledge can do to your canopy/windshield over time. I've been using Plexus since day one and it's great!
By the way, it's available thru skygeek.com for a very good price. The more you buy, the cheaper per can price.
Good luck.
 
Behold.......

....is next to Pledge on the shelves, about half the price and just as good. We go through a can every two days cleaning the Air Tractor's windshield a dozen times a day:) The RV has its own can in the back.

Regards,
 
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Walgreens brand "pledge"

Works good. I have used it occasionally (9 yr old plane) on the canopy (regularly on the paint) with no ill effects. Walgreens brand is about half the price of name-brands (and on sale for $.99 a can occasionally) and I'm sure it's the same stuff.

It may fill a microscopic scratch, but nothing visible. Just be sure to use a teri cloth and flip it after each wipe so you don't grind in the dirt and dust. Same for any cleaner on the canopy.
 
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What NOT to use...

on your plexiglas (acrylic) windshield/canopy. Besides the obvious things like lacquer thinner and MEK, two things that will damage acrylic are ammonia, one of the active ingredients in Windex, and hydrocarbons. Paint thinner, stoddard solvent, avgas, and anything containing petroleum products can cause long term damage to acrylic. The long term part is the trap. The damage, in the form of "crazing" or small cracks will take years to appear. But appear they will. On the subject of Pledge, here is the MSD on the product. Note the ingredient list.

http://www.fsafood.com/msds/vault/001/001279.pdf

"Isoparaffinic Hydrocarbon Solvent" Hmm...

John Clark
RV8 N18U "Sunshine"
KSBA
 
Not a scientific study but we've used both for many years at our flight school for 10 + years without any negative results. FWIW I use Plexus on my RV3
tm
 
I'm with pierre. Behold is cheaper and works just as well. I've used it on everything I have flown to lay down a layer of wax. Then I used water and a touch of 409 for soap action to get the bugs off. The 409 / water mixture hydrates the bugs faster.
 
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Confused

on your plexiglas (acrylic) windshield/canopy. Besides the obvious things like lacquer thinner and MEK, two things that will damage acrylic are ammonia, one of the active ingredients in Windex, and hydrocarbons. Paint thinner, stoddard solvent, avgas, and anything containing petroleum products can cause long term damage to acrylic. The long term part is the trap. The damage, in the form of "crazing" or small cracks will take years to appear. But appear they will. On the subject of Pledge, here is the MSD on the product. Note the ingredient list.

http://www.fsafood.com/msds/vault/001/001279.pdf

"Isoparaffinic Hydrocarbon Solvent" Hmm...

John Clark
RV8 N18U "Sunshine"
KSBA
John, good info.
but I checked the msda for plexus too and it has
Alipathic Petroleum Distillates in it too...at 23%
So whats a guy to use.........h2o?
 
I add a cap full to the spray bottle. I use it on leading edges, plexiglass, the entire plane. Not enough to hurt anything.

Bugs are cleaned off my plane after each flight with a blue paper towel and windshield washer fluid. I've never checked the ingredients but assume it is just water with a little alcohol added.

The plexi gets water only.
 
Plexi & Pledge

I have a Cessna 170 that I have been using Lemon Pledge on its windscreen for over 15 years. I spray a mist of plain water on the plexiglass first then spray an even coat of Pledge on top of the water followed by a terry cloth buffing. The windscreen on that plane looks as good now as when I installed it in 1993. There is no sign of crazing and it cleans up real well. My RV6 canopy has been getting the same treatment since it's initial flight in 2004. BTW, I have a very nice C170 for sale but it doesn't compare to the RV!!

Dick DeCramer
RV6 N500DD
Northfield, MN
RV8 Wings complete