Remove fuel stains

DesertNomad

DesertNomad

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DesertNomad
I think I solved my leaking caps problem but now I am having little luck removing the fuel stain from the top of the wing. It was a large blue ring and I tried 100LL, Carbon-X (1:20 and non-diluted too) and WashWax All. What seemed to work a little is Extreme Simple Green Aircraft. It sort of transformed the blue ring into a pale green blotch over a large area.

Will this fade in time?

I was using a yellow microfiber towel from Costco that I have always used on the plane. I don't think the color came from the towel. I really don't want to have to repaint my tanks (pretty sure they have to come off to do that). They were off 2 years ago to do Piper SB1006. Although my tanks are a very slightly different color than the rest of the wing, I still would rather not repaint.

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I would think good old fashioned ethanol, the wonder solvent, should work to dissolve the dye.
 
Tarheelpilot said:
100LL
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I tried that - no luck. I think the SimpleGreen (Aircraft version) did dissolve the blue stain a bit but it really just diluted it a lot and now it is a large pale green area - fairly noticeable and I'd like my wing to be white again.
 
Carb or brake cleaner. Test it on an inconspicuous spot. Works on my paint, old Imron.
 
I've used just simple mineral spirits/naptha. On an older light colored surface you might wish to follow that up with a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser to get it out of the microcracks in the paint.
 
The only thing that solved my problem was light sanding performed by an aircraft painter that is skilled at detailing. No chemicals worked. I tried them all.
 
Aviator305 said:
The only thing that solved my problem was light sanding performed by an aircraft painter that is skilled at detailing. No chemicals worked. I tried them all.
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Sanding?! I assume polishing compound which I think is less abrasive. The problem is you might end up with a nice glossy surface, making the rest of the dull paint stand out, requiring the entire plane to be detailed.
 
I had deep stain on a wheel pant from a leaking sump valve. I tried all the above and while some helped, nothing got rid of it totally. What did work was time. It was deep blue when it happened, solvents and compound got it to light blue. Time made it invisible.
 
Hang 4 said:
I had deep stain on a wheel pant from a leaking sump valve. I tried all the above and while some helped, nothing got rid of it totally. What did work was time. It was deep blue when it happened, solvents and compound got it to light blue. Time made it invisible.
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Time or exposure to the sun? For those with hangars may not wait.
 
MooneyDriver78 said:
Time or exposure to the sun? For those with hangars may not wait.
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My plane was hangared and it was a wheel pant, so even when the plane was out, it was mostly in the shade. I did hit the pants and leading edges with detailing spray after most flights to get off bug splatter, that might have helped.
 
MooneyDriver78 said:
Sanding?! I assume polishing compound which I think is less abrasive. The problem is you might end up with a nice glossy surface, making the rest of the dull paint stand out, requiring the entire plane to be detailed.
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Wet sanding with very fine grits is a common detailing technique for very messed up areas (orange peel is one example). There has to be sufficient paint thickness to do that. I'd put that in the pro only category. Wet sand, compound, polish, sealant steps. You're right that the tank would look much better than the rest of the plane.
 
Ignore it. Spend the time flying. It is not an airworthiness issue.

Think about it. You're considering using an abrasive on a perfectly good, smooth, paint job to remove a bit of totally cosmetic discoloration. Perspective, dude. :)

If you want to play with it a bit more. Soak a rag or paper towel in 100LL, lay it over the stain, and leave it for a few hours. You could even test some plastic wrap to see if it melts, and if not, cover the rag/towel with plastic wrap to keep the 100LL from evaporating. After removal, scrub area with a dry paper towel.
 
What kid of paint? Two part urethane is pretty tough and will stand up to aggressive solvents. Other paints, not so much.
 
Capt. Geoffrey Thorpe said:
What kid of paint? Two part urethane is pretty tough and will stand up to aggressive solvents. Other paints, not so much.
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I am not sure what kind of paint because the tanks are a slightly different color than the rest of the wing. I don't see a separate listing for the tanks, but the airplane was painted by Lancaster Aero in Pennsylvania which seems like a reputable shop and the the clear coat is listed as "4.0 High Solids Polyurethane Select"
 
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Paint a blue circle around the fuel caps; you will no longer notice the fuel dye.
 
DesertNomad said:
I tried that - no luck. I think the SimpleGreen (Aircraft version) did dissolve the blue stain a bit but it really just diluted it a lot and now it is a large pale green area - fairly noticeable and I'd like my wing to be white again.
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If that didn’t take it off then the stain is probably settled into dead paint. A good detailing with abrasives then polish and seal would get rid of it but you end up doing the entire airplane. This assumes you have enough paint to handle a good compounding.

just my opinion.
 
Tarheelpilot said:
If that didn’t take it off then the stain is probably settled into dead paint. A good detailing with abrasives then polish and seal would get rid of it but you end up doing the entire airplane. This assumes you have enough paint to handle a good compounding.

just my opinion.
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I should be able to do just the wings, right? I have a small blue stain on the other tank too that has been there almost a year and is slowly fading but still visible. It never turned green or yellow - still a blue ring.
 
DesertNomad said:
I should be able to do just the wings, right? I have a small blue stain on the other tank too that has been there almost a year and is slowly fading but still visible. It never turned green or yellow - still a blue ring.
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I think your questions are getting outside of my wheelhouse. It really just depends on your paint condition. Without being there I’m just guessing. I’ll lead you in the wrong direction. Do you have anyone local that’s good with paint restoration? I would reach out to them and ask.
 
Try some of this stuff: https://tinyurl.com/polishing-compound

Use it as directed on a small spot and see if it helps. It's a mild abrasive, but I've had good luck with using to get out minor stains. Be careful over the rivets, though.

Good luck!
 
Snowmass said:
If you polish/compound over rivet heads you quickly go through the paint due to the force concentration over a rivet head.
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^^ This ^^

It's easy to burn the paint on rivet heads if you apply too much pressure. This is especially the case with an orbital buffer. I've seen some guys actually put blue tape over the rivets when using a buffer.

But if you're careful doing it by hand, you shouldn't have a problem.
 
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