First of all this, is my first post, and I am cross posting this from Audizine, an audi forum that I am active on. I have purchased all my products from Phil, which is how I came upon his new site. Anyways, I've been doing some detailing on the side for cars in my local area for some extra cash. My dad's friend wants me to "polish and wax" his small aircraft. I believe it's a seaplane. Does anyone know what the similarities and differences are in a airplane's paint? Is it clearcoated? Would I need different types of wax? A marine wax maybe, if it's a seaplane? Any info would be appreciated, so that I can at least tell this guy if I can do it or not. I'd be using a PC or hand to do everything. I'm definitley up for the challenge as far as labor goes, but I need to know if it's safe or not to detail it like I would a car. Thanks!
Never done a plane but my suggestion would be if you have a rotary use large pads, 6.5" and use a PC to apply the wax. I would use Collinite 845 as it has great durability as well as look. As for the polishes i think most of those planes are cleared and normal polishes should work. also if you dont already, id suggest to charge by the hour make bank on it
Klasse AIO followed by Collinite #845 Liquid Insulator Wax. This is my go-to combo for doing a boat, highly durable and both products work on painted surfaces, metals, glass, and clear plastic. Phil doesn't sell Klasse AIO but you should either buy it from somewhere else or e-mail Phil and he can point you to a different AIO that will work just fine. Apply the AIO with a green or blue pad, and then apply the 845 with a black sealant/wax pad.
Planes are larger than they look when you start working on 'em, as was suggested, use large pads. The paint is usually Dupont Imron or a finish of that caliber. All I've done are hard as a rock which is why they weather so well. Many get washed with brooms on the rare occasion they get washed at all. Since you're dealing with a bit of size I wouldn't expect the same type of correction you get with a car. You can clean, polish and protect but don't think you're going to get every mark or swirl out or you'll be spending a lifetime at it. A 1-step product is definitely an advantage. We used to use Collinite 126 cleaner/wax by the gallon and buff with 10" wool pads with rotaries. Meg's D151 would be another good 1-step product. You're basically cleaning off a layer of grunge that isn't as visible as you'd think... that first pass is going to let you see what you're achieving. An airplane has numerous sensitive parts. Pitot tubes and static ports need to be covered or taped off. Getting polish, or wax in either or forgetting to uncover afterwards will absolutely insure catastrophe with the next takeoff if the pilot does a sloppy preflight and doesn't catch it. Avoid getting water in openings where control cables run as well. Any aircraft owner that values his carcass should go over sensitive parts and areas with you beforehand. Perhaps even cover things up himself. Doors, latches, Dzus fasteners on aircraft aren't as stout as parts on cars. They don't take kindly to being forced or slammed. And they're unbelieveably expensive if something gets broken. Is this a seaplane (floats) or an amphib (integral hull, usually with retractible landing gear)? On an amphibian you'll be dealing with a cruddy hull that's spent some time in the water and probably has waterline marks. Same with floats. ARO or a general APC might be what you'd use there. While most automotive products are fine for paint there's some things that definitely require aircraft only materials... in particular, deicing boots. They're only manufactured by BF Goodrich and only ICEX is used on them. If this is a small seaplane I wouldn't expect boots anyway. They're usually not an all-weather craft. Forget dressing exterior stuff. Hoses etc should merely be cleaned. Polish any windows with a plastic cleaner and polish. No Rain X or anything like that and DEFINITELY not anything with ammonia! Some people use lemon pledge on theiur windshield... anything other than clean should be the owners call. Hope you're charging by the hour vs a flat rate. It's real easy to severly underestimate the time it takes to do an aircraft. You find yourself taking more and longer breaks, especially after spending a couple of hours holding a polisher over your head doing the underside of the fuselage or wings. Proper ladders and scaffolds are real helpful. Getting down to move a ladder ever few feet when you're doing the top of a wing is a serious PITA and time consuming. Hope the guy has a hanger. If you've got to work outside trying to keep in the shade is a challenge. Work in the sun and you'll regret it. A soft bristle toothbrush or two in your pockets is a handy tool. Airplanes have a lot of rivits. TL
I too am in the same position as your are. I was just asked to perform services on a new customers 6 seater airplane; this will be my first. The first thing I did was check out the forums and do a little research. Depending on the size of the airport your customers plane is stored at; you may not even be allowed on the premises without $3-4 million in liability coverage. This along with certain training certificates and other insurance requirements may or may not be asked for. I contacted Renny Doyle from Attention to Details and asked for his advice. He advised me to not forgo the insurance; which runs a minimum of $10,000 a year. He also advised me that planes have crashed and people have been killed because of cleaning crews using the wrong products. Is that something you can live with on your conscience? Not me. I've looked into training but again its expensive. Good info can be found here: Auto Detailing Network Forums you may also be interested in this as well: Jetstream Aviation Products - Aircraft Detailing Course
They certainly take a long time, so charge accordingly. Lots of little nooks and crannies, plus a huge amount of flat space. The last one I did, I did a one step polish with a Cyclo, and it looked really good. If I would have needed to cut it heavily the price would have doubled. Don't price yourself too low on this one. John
Thanks everyone. I am still weighing the pros and cons... The plane is a Cessna Model 180k, with floats attached, and landing gears that come out of the floats. This makes the plane very high off the ground, I'd be doing most work on a ladder... The owner is looking for a wash and wax, and a polish on some of the black parts of the plane. I am timid about the fact that I could mess something up, and that it could take FOREVER by myself. I also only have 4.5in and 3.5in pads for my PC...that could increase the amount of time necessary for sure.
From what I have read so far all these aircraft paints are hard as concrete so you had better get some surbuf pads or something similar to bump up the pc's aggressiveness. Most research I have turned up everyone is using rotary with wool pads.
That's a fact. A 180 is a high airplane anyway... put it on floats and you need an elevator to get to the cockpit. Personally, I wouldn't do that kind of job without a rotary and at least an 8" wool pad. A lightweight rotary at that. If you decide to upgrade equiment for that job ATD makes a very serviceable rotary available on Amazon for a piddling 60 bucks and free shipping. I picked one up 6 or 7 years ago when my buffer crapped out in the middle of a job on a Sunday and I needed a replacement NOW! Picked up the ATD at NAPA for around 78 bucks. It's been an excellent machine. I always wondered if they were manufactured by Makita because it's almost a carbon copy with exception of the lowest speeds and the color and front housing. Looking at the ATD Tools Web site listing the manufacturers for their stuff Makita is listed so I wouldn't be surprised if that's who makes the ATD. Doing the underside of high wings on a C180 made even higher by floats isn't an enviable job. Your arms ought to look like Popeye's when your done... TL
I have a Makita (its my brothers) but I don't have much experience with it and an expensive plane probably isn't the place to start! Here's the plane.
get some scrap panels and practice the rotary on it. i highly suggest using it. not that a pc wont get the job done if used right, just it might take you twice as long.
[Devil's Advocate mode] So how ya gonna get up there? Without scaffolding or a boom lift I don't see how... it ain't like you can just lean an extension ladder up against it. :shead: [/Devil's Advocate mode] TL
that plane really doesn't seem all that big. I mean don't get me wrong it will still take all day to do if not longer but it isn't as big as some of the planes people have done so you might be able to do it yourself. I would look into the insurance requirements and stuff first before accepting the job. Would suck to start the job, get questioned and then 86-ed from the premises for not having the right documents mid job.
