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View Full Version : Cleaner and Polish for fabric airplanes



Renard
06-06-2009, 02:43 PM
I was wondering what worked well in the way of fabric polish for kitfoxes. Thinking back to when a friend and I bought an old Taylorcraft. We spent a weekend applying an auto polish and brought the cruising speed up 5 mph.
That was a long time ago, I'm sure there is better stuff out today.
Chuck
Model IV
912

DesertFox4
06-06-2009, 05:00 PM
Chuck , if your Kitfox is covered with the Poly Fiber process then Carnauba wax is the only thing they recommend to use.

Renard
06-06-2009, 05:43 PM
Yep, it's Polyfiber. Is there any brand of wax you know about that doesn't have destructive additives in it?
Chuck:confused:

Skybolt
06-06-2009, 09:28 PM
Yep, it's Polyfiber. Is there any brand of wax you know about that doesn't have destructive additives in it?
Chuck:confused:

Why would a wax (not a rubbing compound) have destructive additives in it?
The idea of a wax is to protect the finish and not destroy it.

So you have a Polyfiber system. Which top coat did you use, the air dry or the chemical dry.
Carnauba containing wax is more suited for the air dry because it allows solvent escape, but it is also usable for the chemical cured coating.

You don't want to use teflon containing or space age sealer waxes on any paint, Use something that is easy to apply. And make sure the coating has dried sufficiently before waxing. An air dry top coat could take at least a month, a chemical dry top coat, about two weeks.

DesertFox4
06-06-2009, 09:30 PM
I think I bought Maguire's wax, red can.

Renard
06-07-2009, 07:50 AM
Thanks guys, That is what I was looking for. I was looking at polishes the other day and several said carnuba but also mentioned they included cleaners as well. Was wondering what others might have done.
Chuck

Mnflyer
06-07-2009, 03:02 PM
Hi I don't think it makes any difference what kind / type of cleaner polish that is used. As post one should not use any thing on freshly painted surfaces, give it a couple of months at the mim to cure, my take is that there is not any kind of cleaner / wax that is harder on the finish than grease oil grime drit and gasoline and today's auto gas is some of the worse for staining and deteriorating finishes.
Over the years I've used just about everything sold and right now the preference is McGuire's quick wax, and Protectall I add some Nufinish to both and spray it on and wipe it off cleans and put a bit of shine on the polytone finish. I also use Protectall on the windows works great.


http://nufinish.com/products_polish.html

http://www.meguiarsdirect.com/detail/MEG+A1616

Frontier Fox
08-08-2020, 03:20 PM
Thought I would bring up this 11 year old thread and see what changes some of the Kitfox community may have made. My “Short List” is getting smaller, I’m running out of boxes (with aircraft parts in them) and it is time to think about applying a coat or two of wax. However, times have changed and so have paint protective products. My question is has anyone use Ceramic Coatings. They seem to be the latest for protection at least in the automotive world. I’m wondering if it would work on Polyfiber painted with Aerothane and I wonder about getting it on the acrylic windshield and acrylic bubble doors.

ken nougaret
08-09-2020, 05:25 AM
I use REJEX on my polytone painted fabric and on my urethane painted cowling. You can get it from any aircraft supply or amazon.

Flybyjim
08-09-2020, 05:14 PM
True Value sells the rejex also

GuppyWN
08-09-2020, 06:19 PM
I use REJEX on my polytone painted fabric and on my urethane painted cowling. You can get it from any aircraft supply or amazon.

I use it on the leading edges. You use it on the entire airplane? You use a whole bottle to do the entire airplane?

ken nougaret
08-10-2020, 08:05 AM
I use it on the leading edges. You use it on the entire airplane? You use a whole bottle to do the entire airplane?

Yep, I use it on the whole plane. I dont remember how much it took the first time I did the whole plane. Since then, I've done bits and pieces at a time.

Frontier Fox
08-10-2020, 08:08 PM
Thank you for the tip Ken. Amazon delivery coming.