I used to be a professional detailer. That regular turtle wax ceramic spray is the best out there. Better than the expensive products by far in my experience.

This is too awesome! My airplane got detailed this weekend and all I did was ask questions relating to products and techniques he uses!! Couldn't have been hit home better.

Your timing is impeccable Gunny. After cleaning out the inside of my "new to me" A36 that got here on the 31st, I started thinking today about the question of "How should I clean the outside?"

Pledge is the best kept secret in aviation. A bargain when compared to those pricey plexiglass cleaners, and does every bit as good. After each flight I clean the leading edges with FW1 carnauba wax cleaner - so quick & easy.

Greatly helpful video...Thank You Scott for an informative and thoughtful video..!!

This is the best timed video (for me). Our Bo has collected a nice bit of dirt on the surface and was thinking about calling a local detailer who basically soaks the planes with water. Instead, I'm going to head out this afternoon and use your tips.

I watched this video when it came out and rewatched recently before the big clean day today. Good tips. As of typing this comment, just South of you at Spinks, now has the shiniest Bonanza in the area. Ohh the beautiful satisfaction of a spectacular A36 gleaming in the sun.

Another great, detailed discussion of an undervalued topic. These things are collectors items in many cases with the popularity of GA. It nice to keep them in the best condition you can for the next generation.

I know this video is a few years old but I was one of the guys that got to fly out to Arizona and test that ceramic spray for Turtle Wax! I use their ceramic detailer on my own airplane after each flight, it gives a minor layer or ceramic on top each wipe down. That ceramic stuff is great, if you get around to it try their new graphene stuff, just amazing and even more protective!!

Great cleaning tips and product overview Scott!!

Great discussion of cleaning and waxing airplanes - thanks for an excellent video.

loving the vids!!!

This video is very helpful. Thanks. I have tried many products to clean the belly of my airplane and my preference is Goop hand cleaner. Smear Goop on one section of the belly at a time, wipe it off dry, and then proceed to the next section.

Good advice. What do you think of best way to clean after exposure to Florida salt air? My mechanics advocating doing the old school spray with water to clean up after coming back from Florida flying to try to head off the corrosion. I normally use distilled water in a spray bottle most of the time but they thought it would just rub any salt residue in. What would you do? Thanks.

Thanks Scott - I just bought a 1978 152 that I'm sure has the original paint job on it - very oxidised. It's time to buy some products and get to work!

Scott, detailer's tip: if you drop a clay bar, don't try to clean it off and use again. It'll have grit embedded in the clay that will mar and damage your paint. Best to chuck it and get new clay or use an artificial clay towel, which, as you pointed out, CAN be washed and reused. Great video!

Live the video, but have used water (filtered) on several occasions over the years with no issues. Regardless, learned a lot here! Thanks!

I have listened several times but can’t understand the product for the prop. Can you list it somewhere please?

Awesome tips, one time someone told me long time ago, WD-40 stand for water displayment 40% So, yes is not a lubricant, but we may think so and use it as such. Good tips 👍

After washing the plane I find that once around the pattern usually dries it out fairly well. Also, if you drop the clay bar on the ground its best to toss it because the dirt it picks up will be like sand paper on the paint.

This the second time I watched video recently, took notes this time, my white paint above the doors of V tail looks tired , will try

alot of motocross tracks make you hose you're bike down on a blue tarp, beaouse at the end of the day, because every dirt bike accumulates an average 3 ibs on every bike. So by the end of the day, after a 100 bikes tear up dirt, It ends up tearing 1000s of ibs of dirt every year. Just like the grand canyon it adds up over time. Point being, dirt adds weight to the airframe also causing more weight and more drag. just my opinion, im not a pilot so take that with a grain of salt

Are all the products shown here silicone free? I‘ve heard that when it comes to painting the aircraft, silicon is really bad. The paint won’t stick to the surface...

What was the blue bottle with the red top stuff called at 16:50 when talking about the props?

Once a year I use a liquid wash and wax with a pressure washer from afar so that only a light mist rinses the plane. Lucas silk mist on the paint for the rest of the year, plexus on the windshield.

Great tips! Now I just need to buy myself a plane

Any tips for fabric wings?

Thanks for the video. Can I make a suggestion about the ceramic coating portion? I do this for a living and have done extensive testing on bonding and longevity of several different types of ceramic coatings. I love the one you’re using by the way! But anyway the cleaning process should not be done with a detailer product that has any wax or other protection in it. That inhibits the ceramic coating from properly bonding to the surface. Use a product called ONR. Optimum no rinse. One bottle makes hundreds of gallons. It doesn’t contain any protection products that will interfere with the bonding of the ceramic protective material.

Great advice and very helpful! Do you have any advice for smoke stained headliners? My C180 looks great all around but have these brown stains on the headliner from cigarette smoke that I can't get out after trying endless types of cleaners?

Great video. I was really surprised when you said you use pledge on the windows. As a line service guy we were always made to fear anything but acrylic or plastic cleaner like Prist. What do you look for when you decide its okay to use the pledge?

Great video. Very informative. What about an auto glass cleaner on the windows instead of Pledge?

Scott. Are you putting the same effort and detail under the wings and fuselage? I didn't notice a creeper? I was told handsoup without the grit was great for belly oil. I am a new Mooney owner and this was a great lesson. Thanks.

Could you leave a list of products you use?

That quick detailer is going to leave behind a residue that is going to retard your ceramic coating from bonding to the paint. Your ceramic coating is only gonna last as long as that quick detailer, which is maybe a week or two.

Does this work for fabric airplanes as well or just hard body planes?

Try 5 or 6 thousand for a professionally done paint correction and a ceramic coating.

I just rewatched this. My Arrow had to be reweighed so it was filled with oil, now I have 2 quarts on my belly mixed with runway debris. To add insult to injury it is going below freezing every night so rinse with the hose is not a good idea and less than 2 weeks to Sun N Fun. Mineral spirits and a towel.

Non chlorinated brake cleaner is significantly less harsh to breathe and for your skin, than chlorinated, and only slightly less effective. Another bonus is that a spray can of non chlorinated brake cleaner seems to last longer than chlorinated...so you (or I, rather) go thru less product. Goggles, gloves and good ventilation are still important.

Scott, any tips for how to deal with scratches and hazing on plexiglass? Best.

I've watched 2 of your videos where you're showing me products to use on the aircraft. Why do you make me look at those products from across the hangar? Why not closeups of the products? Walk them over to the camera. Pan them at the beginning. Make the viewing easier on these old fighter-pilot eyes. And please hold them still while you're showing them... do the shaking 'em up off camera. Thanks for the informative videos. Clean 'em up and keep 'em coming!

I use the exact same Turtle Wax product on my Lexus LS460 L

A leaf blower for drying the airplane and getting the water out is interesting. Better (at least IMO), is a portable air compressor (one with an attached air storage tank) with a lengthy hose. A compressor is a lot quieter than a leaf blower, and you get a constant air pressure out of a compressor (60 LBS PSI). Something like a "CRAFTSMAN Air Compressor, 6 gallon, Pancake, Oil-Free with 13 Piece Accessory Kit (CMEC6150K)." $150 bucks gets something that is perfect for blasting water, dirt, dust, debris out of an airplane. You have more control. The compressor with a tank is also perfect for keeping a workshop clean.

Go to a Honda motorcycle store and buy their Plastic Cleaner and Polish (spray can). About $6.00. Works much better than Pledge and that $21.00+ Plexus. I use it as a detailer on the fuselage and the prop. Leading edge bugs come right off. Try it. You’ll like it. For the belly grunge I use Simple Green Extreme (OK for aluminum, unlike the standard Simple Green). It cleans exhaust stains and quickly removes grease and oil.

As a professional detailer, I would never use automotive products on airplanes. These products are not approved for airplanes and contain alkaline which is corrosive to the airplane skin. I only use products that have approvals from major manufactures eg Boeing, Airbus, Bombardier, Cessna Beech.

Great video as usual Scott.

Scott I really like your blog. I really do, keep them coming. But I must say you never had a C-180 floatplane that lived under a pine tree in Maine. Just saying👍🇺🇸

What about when it rains? I mean, I’m not disagreeing, just asking. Isn’t that about the same as using a hose?

are all these techniques good for fabric planes?

This was really helpful. I used that ceramic coating and got stunning results! Thanks Scott!

Suitable for my carrier

also you selling the 180 i saw it on trade a plane?!?!?

Product used on prop???

What is the product Bob sprays on the prop? No one mentioned the name.

I detail planes and I hear your argument to wet washing however planes are made to fly in the rain. So I’m not sure I agree with no wet washing. Dry washing is fine when the plane is fairly clean. But many planes I clean just have to be washed with water. One pass with a microfiber towel and it’s time for a new one. Dry washing only really works if the plane is cleaned regularly.

Not the terry cloth 😭

Good audio in your hanger but not so good in your buddy’s hanger

I understand that water can lead to corrosion, but isn’t getting caught in the rain, whether flying or on the ground, a problem also. I was told it was fine to wash your airplane, but to avoid using a pressure washer. What do you think?

Good advice except for cleaning the plexiglass. Plexiglass needs to be hit with copious amounts of water before you ever put a microfiber cloth on it; you need to rinse off the dirt otherwise you will rub fine scratches into the plexiglass with the first pass of a cloth.

Do you ever preform pre-buy inspections? Pm sent

Way too old school!... After cleaning gunk off with degreaser, Just buy a D/A random orbital 5" polisher and some Maguires 205, med cut, polish cut pads, and then follow up with a ceramic/wax spray.

What about flying thru rain

Make sure the cleaner or detail-er has no alkali in it.

Scott, I would not use Dawn, it contains Sodium Chloride, - salt! very abrasive, and corrosive. There are much better products out there, I would not even use it on my car.

So, I'm pretty sure that WD 40 does not contain fish oil. Google is your friend.

CLEAN water doesn't cause harm.. with that being said I'm still going for a waterless wash today on a plane... they don't allow water out on the tarmac of John Wayne Airport

Semantics but not a ceramic coating. It’s polymer sealant with low percentages of si02, that makes it easy to apply for the average consumer

IT…KEEP IT OUT OF HE SUN AND FLY IT THROUGH A LIGHT RAIN…BUT EVERY FLIGHT GET THE BUGS OFF…

I own a Aviation Detailing business. I ONLY use Aviation approved products. Don't use car or truck wash on your Aircraft. It's like washing your balls with tooth paste. Look after your investment ! Wow, you lost me at dishwashers liquid. Haha. Only in America.

I guess you never fly in the rain .

Do you fly through the rain? 🤷🏻‍♂️

We need more lemon pledge .

A clean airplane is a happy airplane!

5-600 dollars for a detailer to ceramic coat a plane? Lol more like minimum $6000 dollars

I'm sorry but you are giving some terrible advice. Quick detailers generally have protectants in them and are a bad choice for prepping for a ceramic coating. They also don't provide enough lubrication for cleaning without scratching paint. Use a high quality waterless/no-rinse wash like Optimum No Rinse or McKee's 914 to clean without water. Quick detailers are met to provide one last clean prior to going up to be judged at a show and stuff like that not cleaning. Clay bars are met to remove contaminates that are imbedded in paint not for smoothing out your paint. They will mar paint but most aerospace paints are much more hard in comparison to automotive paints. The microfiber towels are a great idea. Dawn is a terrible idea as it is far from PH neutral and will dull the appearance of your paint. The leaf blower is also a great idea. It helps avoid scratching and marring from the drying process. Spray on ceramic waxes are nothing like real ceramic coatings. A spray on ceramic wax will last roughly two months to a year depending on the product. A true ceramic coating can last 7+ years. The Turtle Wax stuff you are using is more of a three month product. Yeah a ceramic coating is probably going to cost you a lot due to the amount of prep involved but it is worth it to have your paint brought up to the 95%+ mark and then protected like that for 5+ years. WD-40 is not a lubricant or a cleaner it is a water dispersant. The advice about cleaning for maintenance is great. I recommend 303 Aerospace Protectant for protecting interior plastics and vinyl. A good KZfaq Aircraft detailing channel is Aviana Aircraft Detailing. I wish my comments weren't this long but something has to be said before you all lead aircraft owners down a bad path.

Bad advice. While instant detailer is ok to wipe down a plane with, it is not ok to apply ceramic coating after instant detailer is used on the surface. The coating wont properly bond to the paint if you previously applied instant detailer right before the coating is applied. You would need to wipe down extrior painted surfaces with ipa (isopropyl alcohol) to remove the oils, polymers and other ingredients that are contained in instant detailer sprays. Yes, im a professional detailer with 15 yrs in business. Yes i do planes, rvs, boats, motorcycles, autos, atvs, and even golf carts. Lol. With 100% 5star reviews for over a decade, i would say i might know what im doing.

ONR guys..optimum no rinse...thx me later...clay lube/safe wash/ many etc...

Ceramic coat is bullshit Ordinary polish on a random orbit polisher is far better