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Exhaust residue on belly
- Thread starter bob888
- Start date
The soap-based stuff gets most of the exhaust residue off, but to get it perfect, I use a cleaner-wax like this: https://www.amazon.com/Meguiars-Cleaner-Wax-Liquid-Protects/dp/B0002NYE5M
I should add that I have a white-painted belly... darker colors may not need that additional step.
I should add that I have a white-painted belly... darker colors may not need that additional step.
While Scrubby Bubbles certainly works, years ago we were told that it was not compatible with aluminum. Stopped using it, because we couldn't be sure it wasn't getting down in the seams and lap joints. Something to do with the pH of the product, IIRC.
I now stick with aviation approved chemicals.
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Believe it or not, mineral spirits or Stoddard solvent is good for this, and will not harm most single stage aircraft paints. Though, it can dull metallics and clear coats over time.
The best product on the market that I've found is Aero Cosmetics Belly Soap.
The best product on the market that I've found is Aero Cosmetics Belly Soap.
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Aero Cosmetics Products
I've tried lots of things to clean the belly of my aircraft. The combination of exhaust and oil seemed to be a tough problem to solve. That is until I tried the Aero Cosmetics product line.
Before I installed an Anti-Splat air/oil separator, the belly would get greasy due to the oil blow by. I used their "Degreaser" to remove the oil. Now with the air/oil separator, I don't get any oil on the belly. However, the exhaust residue still gets on the belly. Their "Belly Soap" easily removes the exhaust residue. Finally, their "Wash Wax ALL" polished everything up nice and shiny.
I hope this helps.
Jeff
https://www.aircraftspruce.com/pages/cs/cleaners_degreasers/alldegreaserpint.php
https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/cspages/aerobellywash.php?clickkey=452449
https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/cspages/washwax.php?clickkey=452449
https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/cspages/aerostarterkit.php?clickkey=452449
I've tried lots of things to clean the belly of my aircraft. The combination of exhaust and oil seemed to be a tough problem to solve. That is until I tried the Aero Cosmetics product line.
Before I installed an Anti-Splat air/oil separator, the belly would get greasy due to the oil blow by. I used their "Degreaser" to remove the oil. Now with the air/oil separator, I don't get any oil on the belly. However, the exhaust residue still gets on the belly. Their "Belly Soap" easily removes the exhaust residue. Finally, their "Wash Wax ALL" polished everything up nice and shiny.
I hope this helps.
Jeff
https://www.aircraftspruce.com/pages/cs/cleaners_degreasers/alldegreaserpint.php
https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/cspages/aerobellywash.php?clickkey=452449
https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/cspages/washwax.php?clickkey=452449
https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/cspages/aerostarterkit.php?clickkey=452449
Parts washing solvent.
It think I have shared this story here before but when we had the T-28 we were properly motivated to find something to remove oil and exhaust residues. The thing was that all 28s have a round engine that leaks oil like a sieve with exhaust runners that are short stacked and faired close to the fuselage. It baked the oil-exhaust-lead deposits onto the stainless steel exhaust shields with a vengeance. Scrubbing bubbles and brillo pads was the go to within the community for years before somebody mentioned it might not be compatible with aluminum so that sent everybody searching for a replacement. Everything we tried worked worse than the scrubbing bubbles and even that took multiple applications to get down through the baked on residues. One day after a flight I have no idea what made me think to try it but as a test I opened the parts washing tank and dipped a paper towel in it. The caked on baked on exhaust stains came off with one wipe, no effort required. It was a revelation. The only residue left after the solvent wipe was a few streaks that came up with a quick application/buff up of regular old car wax which had the added benefit of making the airplane look good. In fact, once you got far enough away from the exhaust tips, just the plain old car wax did a good job of cleaning the lead staining. I would use solvent from the exhaust ports down the fuselage until about the back seat and then just car wax for the remainder of the empennage.
The stuff we had was mineral based and made by Solvoil. No clue if the newer citrus based solvents would have the same efficacy.
It think I have shared this story here before but when we had the T-28 we were properly motivated to find something to remove oil and exhaust residues. The thing was that all 28s have a round engine that leaks oil like a sieve with exhaust runners that are short stacked and faired close to the fuselage. It baked the oil-exhaust-lead deposits onto the stainless steel exhaust shields with a vengeance. Scrubbing bubbles and brillo pads was the go to within the community for years before somebody mentioned it might not be compatible with aluminum so that sent everybody searching for a replacement. Everything we tried worked worse than the scrubbing bubbles and even that took multiple applications to get down through the baked on residues. One day after a flight I have no idea what made me think to try it but as a test I opened the parts washing tank and dipped a paper towel in it. The caked on baked on exhaust stains came off with one wipe, no effort required. It was a revelation. The only residue left after the solvent wipe was a few streaks that came up with a quick application/buff up of regular old car wax which had the added benefit of making the airplane look good. In fact, once you got far enough away from the exhaust tips, just the plain old car wax did a good job of cleaning the lead staining. I would use solvent from the exhaust ports down the fuselage until about the back seat and then just car wax for the remainder of the empennage.
The stuff we had was mineral based and made by Solvoil. No clue if the newer citrus based solvents would have the same efficacy.
When I was a teenager, my part-time job was washing and waxing airplanes. I used Mr. Clean for difficult areas like that and it worked well. That was on painted surfaces then. Seemed a bit harsh to me and that was before I learned about gloves. That was somewhat over 50 years ago and who knows if the formulation is the same? But worth a try.
Dave
Dave
