Animosity2k Posted December 27, 2019 Report Share Posted December 27, 2019 The previous owner must have really loved to clean this windshield in a perfectly circular motion and my photos of flying down the hudson were pretty evident in it. Is there a way to somehow remove or reduce the amount of swirl marks in the windshield glass? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anticept Posted December 28, 2019 Report Share Posted December 28, 2019 You have to polish it. There is a kit product on aircraft spruce called scratch off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BravoFoxtrot Posted December 28, 2019 Report Share Posted December 28, 2019 A more temporary method: lightly spay water on the windshield and clean with your hand, spray again and clean with a clean microfiber cloth, an old T-shirt, or similar soft cloth. Dry with a different, clean, soft cloth. Spay with Pledge or a good paste wax. wipe down with a different, clean, soft cloth. This should fill in the scratches making the swirl marks (almost?) invisible. You will probably have to reapply periodically. As you already know all this should be done with an up and down motion. Also NEVER use any paper towels on plastic. It will scratch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Animosity2k Posted December 28, 2019 Author Report Share Posted December 28, 2019 2 hours ago, BravoFoxtrot said: A more temporary method: lightly spay water on the windshield and clean with your hand, spray again and clean with a clean microfiber cloth, an old T-shirt, or similar soft cloth. Dry with a different, clean, soft cloth. Spay with Pledge or a good paste wax. wipe down with a different, clean, soft cloth. This should fill in the scratches making the swirl marks (almost?) invisible. You will probably have to reapply periodically. As you already know all this should be done with an up and down motion. Also NEVER use any paper towels on plastic. It will scratch. like pledge for wood products? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Animosity2k Posted December 28, 2019 Author Report Share Posted December 28, 2019 6 hours ago, Anticept said: You have to polish it. There is a kit product on aircraft spruce called scratch off. Corey will I need a rotary / orbital buffer? Looking at the kit on spruces site it implies I may? Also any tips for tiny cracks in the paint? Ways to stop them from spreading. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BravoFoxtrot Posted December 28, 2019 Report Share Posted December 28, 2019 "like pledge for wood products?" Yes, in a yellow can, often lemon scented. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandpiper Posted December 28, 2019 Report Share Posted December 28, 2019 If you use Pledge, which I have used for over 40 years, make sure it is lemon as BravoFoxtrot says. I don't know if they make regular Pledge in the brown can anymore but don't use it. It will cause a build up that is hard to remove. Ask me how I know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Animosity2k Posted December 28, 2019 Author Report Share Posted December 28, 2019 1 hour ago, sandpiper said: If you use Pledge, which I have used for over 40 years, make sure it is lemon as BravoFoxtrot says. I don't know if they make regular Pledge in the brown can anymore but don't use it. It will cause a build up that is hard to remove. Ask me how I know. I find this so interesting. So I’m just cleaning the windshield with the lemon pledge that’s under my sink? Up and down movements and it what just fills the swirls then? How often do you apply? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warmi Posted December 28, 2019 Report Share Posted December 28, 2019 7 minutes ago, Animosity2k said: I find this so interesting. So I’m just cleaning the windshield with the lemon pledge that’s under my sink? Up and down movements and it what just fills the swirls then? How often do you apply? Here is some photographic evidence for you .. not the some plane but close enough ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anticept Posted December 28, 2019 Report Share Posted December 28, 2019 5 hours ago, Animosity2k said: Corey will I need a rotary / orbital buffer? Looking at the kit on spruces site it implies I may? Also any tips for tiny cracks in the paint? Ways to stop them from spreading. It can be done by hand too. You should practice on junk plastic first. It's like turtle wax's polishing compound, but has several stages even finer than that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandpiper Posted December 28, 2019 Report Share Posted December 28, 2019 1 hour ago, Animosity2k said: I find this so interesting. So I’m just cleaning the windshield with the lemon pledge that’s under my sink? Up and down movements and it what just fills the swirls then? How often do you apply? Yes. Furniture polish. If your plane is covered in dust you should wash it off first. No sense in pushing your luck! I lived in Alaska most of my life and only the lucky few had hangars. I was not one of them. Cleaning my plane was always a constant battle. A product I found that could be used on a fairly dirty windshield and not scratch it is Dri Wash'n Guard Waterless Car Wash and Protective Glaze. Also used it to clean the entire plane if I was ambitious. I don't know how it would work on your problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MEH Posted December 29, 2019 Report Share Posted December 29, 2019 The flight school I work for uses Lemon Pledge exclusively. As cleaning the windscreen is a preflight checklist item, we train the students to clean the windscreen on every preflight, being sure to only rub linearly, from top-to-bottom-to-top and NO circular motion. The Cherokee we use has over 6000 hours, which conservatively would mean 4000 windscreen cleanings with Lemon Pledge. I will attest there are no swirls or light distortions at night. Lemon Pledge works just fine and is cheap compared to Plexux or ClearView. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Animosity2k Posted December 29, 2019 Author Report Share Posted December 29, 2019 Anyone have any towels they recommend? I could use Microfibers but then I have to wash them all the time. I'd like to find some nice rolls of something I can use and just toss after using! Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Baker Posted December 29, 2019 Report Share Posted December 29, 2019 It is worth washing the micro fiber towels. Get more so you don't have to wash as often, and have a fuller load. Also remember no fabric softener. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Animosity2k Posted December 29, 2019 Author Report Share Posted December 29, 2019 10 minutes ago, Tom Baker said: It is worth washing the micro fiber towels. Get more so you don't have to wash as often, and have a fuller load. Also remember no fabric softener. So if you wash w/ those TIDE Pods that have the fabric softner in them should I just switch to water or are those ok? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Baker Posted December 29, 2019 Report Share Posted December 29, 2019 I would just use some plain detergent, and nothing in the dryer low or no heat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CT2K Posted January 1, 2020 Report Share Posted January 1, 2020 Any suggestion about some product to clean the entire plane that I can find online (L’m not in US) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BravoFoxtrot Posted January 1, 2020 Report Share Posted January 1, 2020 I have heard a lot of positive comments on Composiclean. Available at Aircraft Spruce Europe: https://www.aircraftspruce.eu/covering-supplies/cleaners/composiclean.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
procharger Posted January 1, 2020 Report Share Posted January 1, 2020 Buy some plastic polish works great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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