Cleaning exhaust from painted surfaces

[Ed L]

Following the thread on polishing....what have people had luck with for removing exhaust (recip) from painted surfaces?

Thanks,

Ed

[Scott Apple]

I use FinishKare Products. #146 as a poly wipe, and #2180 as a wax. The wax will remove and protect the painted areas that have exhaust stains. Not sure how bad they are, but if the painted areas are in good shape, these products will work. Google thier website. They are a little expensive. I have been using them for years on Warbirds and corporate aircraft. They have many other products too. Hope this helps!

[JT]

Try some scrubbing bubbles (tm) works well on the lead deposits and carbon build up. You might have to apply a couple times.


JT

[texasfury]

I've tried every possible product and Scrubbing Bubbles is good, but it leaves a film on the paint. The all time great cleaner is "Shout" stain remover. Eats oil and carbon without residue or harm to the paint, (as tested on a very slimmy R-3350 powered Sea Fury).

[John Beyl]

JT or TexasFury

How corrosive is either Scrubbing Bubbles or Shout to aluminum? The Red Tail is painted but there are always places for liquids to go where they can't be removed. I'm open to trying either but I don't want to compromise the structure just to keep it spit shined.

Thanks,
John

[JT]

John,

I've not used it on the Fury, but have used it on the T-6's here, I also know we use it on Gunfighter for the lead deposits. We use it in the process of washing and it's fine. I wouldn't put anyting on a piece of history I'm taking care of that would in any way bring harm to the airframe or finish. Now, That being said, I have put my fat butt on the Fury and Gunfighter....not sure how wise that is...the jury's still out I think!

Hope this helps John, as they say, Your milage may vary! Great Job on Red tail by the way!! And I'm still hoping for that hat!

See you in Midland?

JT

[ZRX61]

I've used Mequiars cleaner wax with a PC DA & it leaves the paint looking new

Do NOT! use a rotary (if you're new to this) unless you like swirl marks in your paint.

[the330thbg]

Bar Keeper's Friend!

The powder.
Very, very gentle abrasive cleaner.

You will need to wax afterwards, but it should not harm your paint. Try a small place as a sample but you will not be disappointed.

Works great on counters and pans as well!

[John Beyl]

John,

I've not used it on the Fury, but have used it on the T-6's here, I also know we use it on Gunfighter for the lead deposits. We use it in the process of washing and it's fine. I wouldn't put anyting on a piece of history I'm taking care of that would in any way bring harm to the airframe or finish. Now, That being said, I have put my fat butt on the Fury and Gunfighter....not sure how wise that is...the jury's still out I think!

Hope this helps John, as they say, Your milage may vary! Great Job on Red tail by the way!! And I'm still hoping for that hat!

See you in Midland?

JT

I'll give scubbing bubbles a shot but will also run some long term tests on the side 'to ease my worried mind'. I think I'll leave the fat crack comment alone! ...or you might pound me head first into the tarmack the next time I see you...which will most likely be Midland. So, you want a Red Tail hat huh? I was kind of thinking a Sea Fury hat would be cool...

Drop me a PM and let me know where you guys are staying in Midland. I'm sure I'll be flying down commercial since the Mustang will be down south for several weeks prior to the show and getting a seat on the B-25 for the Midland trip is like winning the lottery!

You put that C Fury on a diet yet?

John

[sdennison]

Sounds dumb, I know, but good old fashioned toothpaste is a great mild polish. Don't know how it would handle the lead and discoloration but it would be safe to use.

(oh boy, here come the one liners, I can see it now. )

[ZRX61]

Bar Keeper's Friend!

The powder.
Very, very gentle abrasive cleaner.

You will need to wax afterwards, but it should not harm your paint.

Yes it will, countless thousands of what are called angel hair scratches in the fnish, it will look like crap in direct sunlight.

& toothpaste will leave the same kind of damage.

I'm kinda picky about paintwork as it's one of my skills.. & having seen a $35,000 paint job screwed up by some retarded idiot with a rotary buffer before it even left the paint facility makes me a bit biased.

BarKeepers friend also contains oxalic acid which is what we use to bleach wood....

[Mark Peterson]

One of the vendors at Oshkosh in the cleaning business said Simple Green Extreme mixed 1:1 with water is excellent at removing exhaust stains from painted or polished surfaces. Haven't tried it yet. Curious what others think.

[ZRX61]

One of the vendors at Oshkosh in the cleaning business said Simple Green Extreme mixed 1:1 with water is excellent at removing exhaust stains from painted or polished surfaces. Haven't tried it yet. Curious what others think.

Not sure about the *Extreme* version, but the normal stuff is corrosive to aluminum (& lungs)

[Mark Peterson]

I don't work for them, but I got the following from the Simple Green Website:

Extreme Simple Green®
Aircraft & Precision Cleaner

Extreme Simple Green®, Simple Green’s new aircraft and precision cleaning product, cuts through tough, built up grease, oil, dirt, pollution, insect residue and impact soils. We’ve found no other aircraft-approved product on the market that matches Extreme Simple Green’s cleaning performance. Yet, it causes no harm to aircraft structural metals, plastics, paints, or coatings.

[retroaviation]

Just as an FYI, we used that Extreme Simple Green on FIFI for a brief time and it does take the exhaust stains off fairly well, but it leaves a film behind, which looks like heck, unless you go and wipe everything down again with something else, in order to get the Simple Green off.

Gary