windshield cleaning stuff

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tazin river
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windshield cleaning stuff

Post by tazin river »

Where can I order some good aircraft windshield cleaning spray without paying a forture for shipping alone? Was going to get some 210 spray cans from Aircraft Spruce but the shipping cost is almost 3 times the price of a can?

Cheers - Yellowknife
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ozone
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Re: windshield cleaning stuff

Post by ozone »

Pledge or turtle wax work just fine from Walmart or Canadian Tire
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tazin river
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Re: windshield cleaning stuff

Post by tazin river »

Pledge won't damge the wind shield plexiglass?
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GUMPS
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Re: windshield cleaning stuff

Post by GUMPS »

Lemon pledge goes along way. Keep your windshield clean enough and all you need is a dewy morning and some paper towel
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jpilot77
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Re: windshield cleaning stuff

Post by jpilot77 »

I also use pledge when I'm in the field and run out of Prist.
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Colonel Sanders
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Re: windshield cleaning stuff

Post by Colonel Sanders »

Pledge works fine. People have used it for decades. It
leaves a thin film which helps removes the next layer.

Try really hard not to use paper towels, which are
really 5000 grit sandpaper. I use towels from hotels,
Hampton is my preferred brand.

You don't need any fancy chemicals for plexiglas or
lexan. Everyone will tell you that you need exotic
stuff that can only be ordered from Luxembourg,
which is distilled from the milk from only the rear
teat of a particular herd of goats on the shady side
of exactly one mountain :roll:

Car wax products work great on plexiglas. I use
automotive spray/detailer/cheater wax for that.
There are many brands available at Canadian Tire.

If you want to clean plexi a bit more, try cleaner
car wax. Or, pre-wax cleaner. If it's really a mess,
try scratch remover - it's just a fine compound.
Works miracles on plexi.

And please, don't use strong soaps on airplanes.
Everyone wants to use the strongest industrial
soap they can find, which will corrode your aluminum
as if you parked it in the salt water.

Take an old spray bottle of detailer wax, and fill it
with varsol. Use that as a degreaser around and
especially underneath the cowling and belly.

Really, all you need to clean an airplane is spray
wax and varsol (I prefer mineral spirits). Even
better, fill an empty spray wax squirt water bottle
with water, which is the preferred solvent for bugs.
Hard to beat the price for that.
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iflyforpie
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Re: windshield cleaning stuff

Post by iflyforpie »

Another vote for Pledge. I was taught to use that from an crusty old helicopter guy, and because of the price of helicopter glass and the necessity of it being spotless they are even more fanatical than fixed wing guys.

For bug removal, running water and a finger nail work best and won't harm the windshield.
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xsbank
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Re: windshield cleaning stuff

Post by xsbank »

And you can use Pledge on a wet windshield. Lemon Pledge seems to work the best...
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round pounder
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Re: windshield cleaning stuff

Post by round pounder »

I think some of us went to the same school, I use lemon pledge, gives me a nice lemon smell until the first tub of fish gets loaded in, and I swap out my window cleaning rag at every hotel, I prefer Nova or Arctic lodge. Been pledging the windows for 16 years nary a scratch and a heck of a lot cheaper than prist. Ever notice how clean the left side is on a Beaver and the right side is always dirty:}
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Jonathan Goldsmith
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Re: windshield cleaning stuff

Post by Jonathan Goldsmith »

Baby wipes are what you want. They are damp enough to soften dried bugs and if you put the last one used on the dash you have a dry one to dry the windshield with. They don't scratch and clean your hands too. Use them with Pledge.
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cgzro
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Re: windshield cleaning stuff

Post by cgzro »

Yup lemmon pledge works beautifully on plexi and also on fabric and metal.
I clean my entire plane with it every week and occasionally mothers wax if its too dirty for the pledge.
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willow burner
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Re: windshield cleaning stuff

Post by willow burner »

Somebody said fingernails.carefull with that. Its possible to scratch cessna plastic if you have particularly calcium rich nails.
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DareDevil
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Re: windshield cleaning stuff

Post by DareDevil »

a 3M microfiber cloth works the best on the windscreen I find....just a little water / morning dew and it cleans everything up quite nice. Its environmentally friendly and can be used over and over.

Works great on my bike and car as well....
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ragbagflyer
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Re: windshield cleaning stuff

Post by ragbagflyer »

Try Plexus. It's very comparable to 210. I get it at one of the motorcycle/ATV dealers in town. I can't stand Pledge. I'm convinced people only use it because they have seen other people using or because they haven't ever used and appreciated an appropriate product. It's greasy and gets smeared and spattered easily, especially by salt water spray; and then it gets used again to smooth out the problem it caused in the first place. It's a vicious circle. I try and throw out any can of it that I find in or around an aircraft and replace it with Plexus. Plexus runs about 15 dollars per can which is reasonable considering it'll last you three times as long as a can of Pledge.
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nofate
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Re: windshield cleaning stuff

Post by nofate »

I use an old motorcycle windshield trick. Soak a towel with water and spread it flat over the windshield for about fifteen minutes. This will soften the bug guts and they will wipe off easy with the towel.
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JMACK
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Re: windshield cleaning stuff

Post by JMACK »

Ok guys how about rainX good, bad, real bad what???? The reason I ask is I saw a Boeing pilot(737-300 not in Canada) hanging out the DV window putting it on the jet.

I love the stuff on my car windshield but on airplanes??? Thoughts???

J
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Meatservo
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Re: windshield cleaning stuff

Post by Meatservo »

I second the colonel's recommendation of just plain ol' water. A sploosh of water from the float pump will soften the bug guts quite a bit, so they come off easier when you use your preferred cleaning method afterwards. I never found prist or any of those other fancy plastic cleaners ever did anything that Pledge wouldn't do.
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ahramin
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Re: windshield cleaning stuff

Post by ahramin »

I'm another big fan of water and towel, never used anything else on the King Air regardless of season.

Though I did use 210 on the very dirty plexiglass on my plane the other day and have to admit it works very, very well.
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beaverbob
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Re: windshield cleaning stuff

Post by beaverbob »

Pledge works for a time but is a wax and not a polish. After a few washings the pledge has to be washed off with soap and water.
A polish leaves no wax build up behind and only creates a shiny polish by converting larger scratches into many smaller scratches that are invisible to the eye, but reflect light as a perfect shine.

210 is a polish, but not as course as Mirror Glaze. Mirror glaze comes in a number of polish "Coarseness" levels in order to restore a badly damaged windscreen into a nicely polished windscreen in stages of coarseness from removing the worst scratches to the finest.

The best way to just clean a windshield is to just wipe off with a soft damp cloth first thing in the morning while the dew still covers the window. Even a garden hose does a descent job of cleaning a window at that early morning hour.

No matter the quality of cloth it will still scratch the window if used dry. Always dampen any cloth or paper towel before it touched the window. If you drop it on the ground, don't use it again, ever.

I hope this gives a few more good ideas, And thanks for posting the common sense rules STL.



Bob
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The Mole
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Re: windshield cleaning stuff

Post by The Mole »

Lots of water. And a couple drops of dish soap will remove bugs. A California water blade on a clean wet windshield will do wonders for water spots. Use only on a clean windshield or it could scratch. Then 210 or plexis with a cotton cloth. I prefer 210 makes water beads off better.
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