washing inside the wings?

cgrab

cgrab

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cgrab
I had a mechanic look at my spar cap per the service bulletin and he said the inside of my wing was dirty due to the corrosion X attracting dust and dirt and that I should power wash it but only use 500 psi and not 1500 like most power washers. I cringed at the thought of introducing water into my wing but wanted to get other opinions.

I plan to clean the plane but to use Aviation Simple Green. Is power washing the inside a good idea to get it clean?
 
I hate Corrosion X for just that reason. I wouldn't do anything more than flush with water using a garden nozzle and probably wouldn't bother with that. Hot water would be beneficial if you can get it. I'd like to flush the inside belly of mine. It's got more crud built up from dirt and hydraulic fluid than any wings would have. Have never gotten to it, though.
 
wipe off what you can reach if it's bothering you, but water isn't going to remove the oil-based corrosion-X, nor would you want it to
 
Yea, I should have mentioned that he said add some aluminum compatible detergent to the power washer.
 
That is one bad thing about corrosion inhibitors. For some, a fresh layer of inhibitor will soften the old. I like LPS-3, a soft bristle brush and rag, no water. You can clean and corrosion inhibit at the same time.
 
GlennAB1 said:
That is one bad thing about corrosion inhibitors. For some, a fresh layer of inhibitor will soften the old. I like LPS-3, a soft bristle brush and rag, no water. You can clean and corrosion inhibit at the same time.
Click to expand...

The Ardrox brands AV-8 and AV-30 seem popular here. They dry to waxy film.
 
Is Varsol gone as an option?
 
I wonder if a guy could build and ultrasonic cleaning tank big enough to hold a typical GA wing and what solvent and how effective cleaning would be. Every older metal airplane I've been involved has at least some dirt in the wings.
 
I made an adaptor for my shop vac using PVC and attached a brush attachment from my home vacuum to remove the majority of accumulated dust and dirt from inside my C-182Q wings using all the inspection openings...didn't make it clean room clean but certainly made it good enough for my purposes...
 
Good idea, I'll work on an adaptor for my shop vac. I did put a piece of surgical tubing on the end of my air compressor blow gun and got allot of dust out of the floor yesterday.
 
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