As many of you know, I am a big proponent of using Lemon Pledge to clean an
airplane. It can be used on the Plexiglas safely, and if you spray the
leading edges of the wings with it after each flight, the bugs just swish
right off with little effort.

In fact, that's ALL we have ever washed the plane with -- Lemon Pledge. No
soap and water has ever touched our plane.

When we were at Sun N Fun a couple of weeks ago, however, I saw a most
peculiar speckle and stripe pattern on our wings and fuselage that was only
visible in the direct sunlight. There were obviously cleaner spots and
stripes, and Pledge would not touch them. You could spray, wipe and buff
till your heart's content, but all you were doing was buffing the surface --
this dirt was much deeper than that.

When we got home I hit a spot with some Castrol Super Clean, and *voila!* --
the whole spot became a much whiter, gleaming white. Apparently two years
of Lemon Pledging has actually sealed some dirt in, under a layer of Pledge
wax that the Pledge itself couldn't dissolve.

So, last night my son and I started the arduous task of washing every square
inch with Super Clean and diapers, followed immediately by a coat of
spray-on Turtle wax (to neutralize the caustic Super Clean).

He finished the under-side, while I did the top of both wings -- wow, what a
difference! What looked "clean and white" before is now almost blindingly
white. The dullness had crept up so slowly that we simply did not notice.

So, while we'll still hit the windshield, leading edges, and nose with
Pledge after each flight, our days of using it as an "overall" cleaner are
over -- although I'd like to find something less harsh than Super Clean.
Any suggestions?
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"