|
Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements) |
|
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
11-21-2021, 10:50 AM | #1 |
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Fairfax, VA
Posts: 3,403
|
Cleaning aircraft aluminum
What cleans aircraft aluminum without heavy scrubbing? Will hydrogen peroxide/baking soda remove AlO2?
|
11-21-2021, 11:40 AM | #2 |
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Above the gnat line in Georgia
Posts: 7,009
|
Re: Cleaning aircraft aluminum
Aluminum is aluminum isn't it?
__________________
Life is like a roll of toilet paper. The closer to the end, the faster it goes. It is better to be seen, than viewed. "We sleep safe in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would do us harm". |
Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements) |
|
11-21-2021, 11:52 AM | #3 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Long Island,NY
Posts: 1,564
|
Re: Cleaning aircraft aluminum
There are all sorts of aluminum cleaners on the market, all you need to do is to Google it. What are you calling "aircraft aluminum", 6061, 2024, as Lawson points out aluminum is aluminum. I remember when Ford built pick-up beds from "aircraft grade aluminum" and were forced to scrap those ad's.
|
11-21-2021, 12:14 PM | #4 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Shelton, WA
Posts: 3,820
|
Re: Cleaning aircraft aluminum
My 2015 F150 is all "military grade" aluminum. 700 lbs lighter then the 2012 I traded in.
|
11-21-2021, 02:45 PM | #5 |
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Charlotte NC KiWi-L100 available here
Posts: 2,990
|
Re: Cleaning aircraft aluminum
|
11-21-2021, 03:16 PM | #6 | |
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2010
Location: East Shore of LAKE HOUSTON
Posts: 11,130
|
Re: Cleaning aircraft aluminum
Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements)
Quote:
That is very true, but this "aircraft-grade" moniker has irked me for eons when I hear reference to it. 6061 & 2024 are two very common grades of aluminum, with considerably-different attributes. Both are used extensively in the production of aircraft, but there is no such thing as "Aircraft Grade 6061" as compared to "Regular Old, Non-Airworthy 6061", nor is there any "Plain Ol' Non-Airworthy 2024 Crap" either. The SADDEST part of this is that there are a whole bunch of dumb-assed sheep in this world that allow this sort of BS and thinking to seriously influence their every-day lives. DD . |
|
11-21-2021, 04:25 PM | #7 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: Columbus, IN
Posts: 1,411
|
Re: Cleaning aircraft aluminum
Clem, I think we need a little more information about what you are trying to do. Have you tried a naval jelly for aluminum product?
|
11-21-2021, 04:51 PM | #8 | |
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2010
Location: NJ
Posts: 6,270
|
Re: Cleaning aircraft aluminum
Quote:
|
|
11-21-2021, 05:20 PM | #9 |
BANNED
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Wa.
Posts: 5,423
|
Re: Cleaning aircraft aluminum
The difference between aircraft and plain aluminum is a bunch of certifying type paper work. Same thing for steel, titanium, beryllium copper and every other material that goes into planes and space vehicles.
The chemical composition of the stuff is all the same. (in most cases) To clean light AlO2, I use a Scotchbrite pad and liquid dish soap. |
11-22-2021, 09:03 AM | #10 |
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2010
Posts: 1,779
|
Re: Cleaning aircraft aluminum
i worked for american airlines . at the time they did not paint there air craft. they had polishing crews. they used mops on long poles they used a red polishing compond. when they were done the mops were sent out & cleaned & used again
|
11-22-2021, 10:22 AM | #11 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: San Antonio, Texas
Posts: 16,511
|
Re: Cleaning aircraft aluminum
The aluminum sheet that could polish up well was the 2024-T3 copper alloy content with the alclad coating of pure aluminum. A lot of aircraft use this type for outer skin because the alclad layer reduces the tendency to corrode in harsh environments plus it polishes up nicely. The only problem is that it is a very thin coating and will eventually wear off if polished too much. It's also used for structural extrusions. It can be formed in heat treated condition for some things but is also available in annealed state for forming followed by heat treatment. It can be welded but it is difficult to get good results when welding so a lot of special procedures have to be followed to get acceptable results. The alclad coatings are generally only used for sheet metal skin so most of the other forms of 2024 have no alclad. This is the most common aluminum type used in aerospace structures.
6061 has magnesium content that makes it more resistant to vibration cracking plus it is more easily weldable than other alloy types. 1100 aluminum is too soft for structure but it welds the best of all of them due to the lack of alloys in it. 6061 is used almost exclusively for engine air baffling and for fluid tanks. 6061 can be used for secondary structure applications such as cowlings and equipment covers where it isn't stressed as much as 2024. 5052 aluminum is used for aircraft fluid tubing of all types. It's notch resistant and can be formed easily in either an annealed state or heat treated. 7075 is the strongest form but is mostly use in forging and extrusions for spars, wing fittings, and landing gear structures. It's hard but is not as notch resistant as some other alloys of aluminum. Fortunately it can take a lot of bending. This stuff is what keeps the big birds in one piece through all sorts of stress. Bare aluminum is cleaned like anything else but would need polishing to make its appearance better. When the stuff is prepped for paint coatings, it has to be washed with an etch solution of a mild form of phosphoric acid and other conditioners until it no longer breaks water on the surface. After that, it is passivated with an alodine solution that turns it a light gold color. After it is dry from water rinse then it's ready for primer and paint. Zinc chromate was the most common primer back in the day but it is used less now due to its carcinogenic properties. Last edited by rotorwrench; 11-22-2021 at 10:39 AM. |
11-22-2021, 11:19 AM | #12 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: Orcas Island Washington
Posts: 5,128
|
Re: Cleaning aircraft aluminum
I was always happy with a product called 'Nevr-Dull' . I think that was the name. It's a can of cotton wadding soaked in something that did an amazing job on the aluminum tank and engine cases etc on my BSA motorcycles.
__________________
Owner/Operator of 'Jailbar Ranch' on the side of Mt. Pickett. Current stable consists of 1946 1/2 ton pickup turned woodie wagon with FH V8, 1946 Tonner Pickup with 226 H six, 1979 Toyota landcruiser wagon, now wearing 1947 Ford Jailbar sheet metal. 'Rusty ol' floorboards, hot on their feet' (Alan Jackson) |
11-22-2021, 12:52 PM | #13 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: upstate NY
Posts: 483
|
Re: Cleaning aircraft aluminum
I don't think there's a quick and easy method to polishing without a lot of hand work.
Google - Airstream trailer polishing. |
11-22-2021, 01:26 PM | #14 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2016
Location: harpursville ny
Posts: 1,057
|
Re: Cleaning aircraft aluminum
Blue Magic Metal polish cream does a very good job and prevents the tarnish from returning. I think I got it at autozone.
|
11-22-2021, 03:08 PM | #15 | |
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Shenandoah Valley Virginia
Posts: 220
|
Re: Cleaning aircraft aluminum
Quote:
7075 T-6 aluminum is used throughout military aircraft structure, including the skins.....higher yield strength = lighter air frame.....for stress controlled structure, not buckling controlled structure. It is much more prone to fatigue cracking (and crack growth rates) than 2024 Al. I believe 7075 is not used on commercial aircraft for that reason alone. Landing gear is steel not aluminum. |
|
11-22-2021, 08:01 PM | #16 |
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Wisconsin, USA
Posts: 9,078
|
Re: Cleaning aircraft aluminum
We've taken our horse trailers to the local truck (semi) wash. It cost about $6 per foot. The aluminum comes out nearly as new. Not certain what chemicals they use but they get the job done nicely.
__________________
"I can explain it for you. However, I can't understand it for you". |
11-22-2021, 08:41 PM | #17 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: sw minnesota
Posts: 4,612
|
Re: Cleaning aircraft aluminum
Cleaning, and polishing are two different things. The OP asked about cleaning. I'm with Kube, truck places have the stuff
|
11-23-2021, 12:29 PM | #18 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: San Antonio, Texas
Posts: 16,511
|
Re: Cleaning aircraft aluminum
Met All aluminum polish is still the common aircraft polish. It's the one I use and the price is better than most. Get a buffer and lots of pads to do the big jobs. It's still a lot of work for those big jobs so a person has to weigh expense and time against what profesionals charge for it.
hotrodart, I was mentioning structures as in structures that hold the landing gear to the airframe. The bigger they get the bigger and heavier the materials are. I speak of an average general aviation type since I don't do big ones. Military aircraft use a lot of titanium as well. The Hughes/MD 500 only has three large sections of titanium and those are the firewall and the two outer skin panels attached to the firewall. They only put those two skins on there so they could fire rockets and mini-guns from the side attachments below the rear doors. Most G/A airplanes use stainless steel for the firewalls. |
11-23-2021, 01:05 PM | #19 |
Member
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Mayville WI
Posts: 55
|
Re: Cleaning aircraft aluminum
Alumiprep 33
|
12-04-2021, 10:45 PM | #20 |
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Fairfax, VA
Posts: 3,403
|
Re: Cleaning aircraft aluminum
This is a homemade toy train built from what we think is old Boeing aircraft parts. It is quite weathered. I have photos if someone can post for me.
|
|
|
Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements) |
|