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June 24, 2022

When you buy an aircraft, it becomes your responsibility to think about its routine maintenance and cleaning. It is the job of every aircraft owner to maintain and clean their aircraft on a regular basis.

Aircraft maintenance and cleaning are vital because it not only extends the life of your aircraft but it also helps to ensure that your aircraft will perform safely for the expected time period.

Regular aircraft maintenance and cleaning will protect your aircraft from long-term damage. The ideal way to maintain your aircraft is by hiring a certified aviation welding technician, as these certified professionals will inspect your aircraft at different stages and will maintain it properly.

Also Read: The Significance Of Aircraft Maintenance

Though proper aircraft maintenance is done by professionals as a responsible aircraft owner, you should know the basics of aircraft maintenance and cleanliness.

In this blog post, we will outline the common things you should expect to do when taking care of your aircraft. After reading this blog you will be fully aware of the basics of aircraft maintenance and the cleaning endeavors you can undertake by yourself.

Washing The Aircraft’s Exterior

This is the first thing that happens to your aircraft during maintenance and cleaning. Most people hire someone else to wash their aircraft because cleaning the aircraft is not an easy job. It requires experience and skills to properly clean the aircrafts’ exterior.

Here are the steps for cleaning your aircraft's exterior, but you should leave this task to professionals as they know how to properly and diligently clean an aircraft:

  • The first step is to wash off the dirt with the help of a gentle stream of water and bare hands. Wipe away all the debris from the exterior. You can also use an aircraft-specific cleaning solution that dissolves the protein without ruining the paint.
  • Next, clean the plexiglass: spray the surface with an authentic plastic-specific cleaner and wipe it all off with a soft microfiber cloth.
  • Lastly, wash the underbelly of your aircraft. When cleaning this part, you should lay down a trap to make the cleanup process easier. To clean the underbelly of your aircraft with an aluminum-safe degreaser, you will need a creeper. Spray the underbelly with an aluminum-safe solution and then wipe it off with a microfiber cloth. Repeat this process until you have removed all the dirt and debris.

The aforementioned are the steps for cleaning your aircraft's exterior. Still, it is advisable that you hire a professional to clean your aircraft’s exterior, as professionals will know how to properly clean the aircraft without causing any damage.

Wax & Polish

A good rule of thumb is to wax and polish your aircraft every six months with authentic products that are designed specifically for your aircraft. Pay close attention to areas such as polishable metals like leading edges, spinner heads, and inlets, as these are susceptible to corrosion in cold weather.

Regular polishing and waxing are specifically important for low-wing aircraft because they are more prone to corrosion as they often come in contact with chemicals such as deicers that keep the runways clear and ice-free.

Hire A Professional To Clean The Gear Area

The aforementioned steps can be done by you, but you can’t clean the gear area yourself unless you are a certified aviation cleaner. Hence, it's best to hire a professional provider of aviation welding services to do this task.

But if you still want to clean this part on your own, then make sure not to use a pressure washer and keep in mind that the gear part is an extremely sensitive part of your aircraft, so while cleaning, handle it with care.

In order to prevent damage to any mechanical parts, you should hand-wipe the entire surface of the gear area with authentic chemicals designed for aviation.

Cleaning the gear area yourself is not an easy task. Hence, it is better to hire a certified professional aviation cleaner for this job.

About Acorn Welding

Acorn Welding is a trusted and highly qualified aviation welding company in Edmonton. We have the latest product designs and manufacturing capabilities required for safe aircraft welding. Removing a leaking fuel tank from an aircraft is a job you only want to have to do once. Welded by qualified and experienced technicians, every fuel tank repair receives three leak tests - an air pressure leak test, a liquid fill leak test, and finally, a liquid penetrant inspection.

Want to have a trusted welder and manufacturer of aircraft components on board? Contact us now.