So you want to Detail an Airplane ???
Oh boy, get ready to work your a$$ off, my friend!!!
A lot of people who have never done one think - well its an airplane, its no big deal but the reality of it is that it IS a big deal.
There is a huge amount of metalwork on the tops AND bottoms of the wings and tail alone!
Is it a painted airplane or aluminum/painted??
The paint is historically very hard and because of that, on really dirty, weathered paint, it will take a good agressive compound and wool or foam wool pads with a Rotary, and it will still be a long, hard, job.
Most of the delicate instruments on the wing edges will be marked or have a flag hanging off of them. If you accidently break one of these, the cost will be way more than the Detail , so you have to be very very careful around those things.
I would not even recommend you touch any of the plexiglass on the plane, even with your hands. See if the Owner is doing his own glass and let him do it if he says he will. You dont want to be having to replace any of it either.
What I did on the last Cessna I Detailed was take a tape and paper machine with me, and cover all the glass completely, strong tape seals, no leaks, like you were going to paint the plane, and then I started the compound process. You really dont want to touch any of the glass unless you have to.
I used Menzerna Powerlock on this airplane and it turned out stunning. It was custom painted 2 colors, and the excellent compounding preparation and Menzerna Powerlock totally dialed this one in.
Totally agree with above - do not touch any lubricants on the landing gear. The tops of the wheels are usually covered anyway, so that is good.
The underside of the fuselage behind the engine if its a single prop Cessna may be really dirty from the exhaust, and oil leaking, etc... You will need to be able to remove this with a degreaser, so bring some along..
Better still, see if the Owner has it already washed for you and hopefully, it lives in a hangar and not outside.. The fuselage or under the wings may still be dirty so be prepared for that.
Oh yeah, the underside of the wings has to be compounded just like the top side, so be prepared to really hurt your triceps if you are not working out regularly or detailing regularly. The weight of the machine will be felt a lot here.
Speaking of machines, please tell me you are going to use a Rotary...... Otherwise, you are going to be there for a long, long, time, unless the paint is really, nice and clean, with no embedded gunk in it.
You will need a good platform and if not, a ladder tall enough to allow you tor reach the top sides of the tail, and hopefully a platform to allow you to reach way over and get the top middle of the wing as it goes over the top of the fuselage. You will be trying to access that area from both sides of the plane.
Better to have a good, tall platform and then be careful that you dont bump into that soft aluminum skin with it.
On some airplanes you can step on the wing area if it runs under the fuselage in the center, and maybe you can get to the top middle of the fuselage from there.. Some airplanes you can only step on just a certain portion of the wing area, to get into it if its a multi-passenger, but not all over the wing area..
You will need to spend time there with the Owner/s and make sure you know where you can step on it and where you cant. If it says "No Step", it really means that..
Watch out for the Prop - it can hurt you really bad if you run into an edge with your head and stuff... The Owner may not want you to touch it, they are very finicky about this too and for good reason...
And if you finally get through all this and finish the airplane, you will also probably be responsible for removing all the compound dust that has now settled all over the floor underneath. It will absolutely have to go, otherwise, the Owner and his friends will pick it up on their shoes and track it inside their nice, clean black leather and carpeted interior!
You have to remove this dust in a way so that it doesnt fly around and redeposit all over the outside of the airplane all over again.. So, think about how you will do this. Ask the Owner how this has been done in the past perhaps..
You may or may not need to bring your own lighting and extension cords, a huge amount of pads, preferably foam wool since they blow out less and finish really nicely, but regular wool is preferred by a lot of people even though they make a mess .. (that you also have to clean up afterwards, and during the process, depending on how much compounding you may have to do)..
This may take several 12+ hour days, so plan for this, also find out where a bathroom is, and water, bring a pad washer if possible, unless you have dozens of pads all ready and dozens more after you run through that first bunch. Plan on having a place to dry pads quickly, if you dont have enough and have to use them the next day, etc...
Finally, get to the Airport where the plane is located, look around and ask where the Airplane Detailers are, go talk to them and find out what the going rate is for this particular size plane, in whatever condition the paint is..
Are you doing the Interior too?? You have to be careful what you touch inside especially pedals and stuff , so you dont accidently unlock the flaps, tail rudder, etc.,. There are a lot of gauges in there, the plastic faces are sometimes fragile, so you dont want to scratch them either.
Has the Owner/s had the aircraft detailed before? How long ago? Who did it? Was it done at that Airport?
The Owner will have to give you a key card and keys to the Hangar, etc., wherever the airplane is stored, you will have to be careful when driving in the Airport, as planes are all around you and taxiing all over the place..
Good Luck with this! Hope it all works out for you !
Dan F
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