ircraft Detailing requires the right personnel, equipment, and supplies plus- a lot of time, hard work, and attention to detail. The materials are carefully selected to be sure they are right for the job. The products and equipment used to clean them are also carefully selected. A plane's paint, aluminum, chrome, rubber and carpet require professional-quality formulas to get the job done right. The leather, vinyl, canvas, and plastic should be cleaned with formulas designed to be safe as well as effective, and protected with only the highest quality conditioners and UV retardants.
AASG Aircraft Detailing applies a step by step process with each detailing job:
Washing: Washing aircraft requires a good bit of knowledge and training. The first lesson is driving safety on the tarmac. Our professional detailers are taught to never drive under the wing because the clearance can be deceiving. Wings, tail, horizontal stabilizer, and fuselage, as well as other aircraf parts, are designed with light weight material and are extremely easy to dent or tear and costly to replace.
If the plane is moved for washing, only those ground personnel who are trained in aircraft positioning and towing are used.
Aircraft windows are made of Plexiglas which can scratch very easily. We shampoo with soft, clean wash mops or our unique Wash Glove with extension handle to prevent scratches. The fuselage is washed with our soft, flow-thru brushes that also have extension handles.
When washing the upper portion of the craft, personnel step only on the areas designated for that purpose. For larger planes we use a free-standing 6-8 foot ladder for the top of the rear wings and fuselage. Nozzles and hoses are kept under control at all times and about 2 feet away from all aircraft surfaces.
Wet Washing will include the landing gear from the top of the gear doors down, belly, top and bottom of wings, engine nacelles, fuselage, and all tail surfaces. All bugs, carbon and oil are removed.
Before washing a section, we spray the leading edge, nose or prop with a bug remover. This will soften the insect residue which can then be hosed-off.
Spray-on degreasers are used in tough areas and then residue is hosed-off as well. The most difficult part of removing grease is getting access to it. Most of the accumulation is under the belly. We use our "creeper" boards on castors to make that job a lot easier and more accessable.
Then we wet and rinse the plane with a front to back motion. Ports and holes are protected from moisture and protection is removed after washing. We avoid spraying water directly into the static board and pitot tube openings.
When washing moving parts such as ailerons, elevators, flaps and rudder areas, support is used to prevent undue pressure on these controls.
Terry towels of 100% cotton or a commercial dryer is used to preserve waxes and avoid scratching the windows. We do not use fabric softener on our cleaning towels. It has a chemical that remains on the surface and causes streaking. We recommend a water filter to prevent any large amounts of water spots as the aircraft is dried. |
