Cleaning Windows

[transquebecniece]

Why would you want to hijack a window-cleaning thread?

 

(If you feel the need to be educated on the value of bats in our environment, I can help you with that, scrapper JB! Just not here. )

 

Cleaning windows.

[hurler]

This topic should really be moved to the engineering,maint and ground ops sub heading. :shock:

 

Hot water, clean rag, then a shot of 210. :up:

 

H

[lamanated]

Just to add a few things.

We got some tinted window plexi inserts for the house, and the instructions from Dow were : mild soap and water, with a 50-1 mix of water to fabric softener rinse.

Also, you should use the garden hose with the end off,as the sprinkled water won't sheet off as does a steady stream.

In case the Astar guys ever wondered what Teepol (the reccomended eurocopter soap) was,it's a brand of dish soap sold in France...

 

Some guys used the Bug be gone also to soften the critters. rain water doesn't leave spots either i was told.

And always use your hand so you can tell if you are picking up any dirt.

and if you do scratch a spot,you can use polishing compound for two stage paints and a polisher to remove them 100 times faster than Micro mesh..

[lineworker]

TQN, the bat story is cool.

 

Just wanted to agree with I FLY about the diluted vinegar. You can always get vinegar wherever you are for nothing. The bare hand works best to remove bugs if you aren't squeemish, and 210 does a nice job of blending out sad scratches, circular movements, then up down til the residue is gone, always have a couple cotton rags... rain or dew are your cleaning friends.

 

Yeah, this topic is misplaced. But the bat story is very cool.

 

First time with a chamois? Make sure it's damp. A chamois last used with hard water then dried will be like a knife on your windows. Tell your passengers to keep their paws off the windows 'specially in bug season, as bug dope will badly damage windows. You should do the inside rear windows every day in the summer to correct this.

[transquebecniece]

TQN, the bat story is cool.

 

...rain or dew are your cleaning friends.

 

Yeah, this topic is misplaced. But the bat story is very cool.

Oh, hey...thanks, Lineworker. I thought it was cool. Bats are your cleaning friends, too; some eat up to 600 mosquites and other assorted bugs an hour (so there, jetbox!)...that many less to scrape off the windows! Hey! :up: Alrighty then. I'm done with bats now.

 

 

Dry, crunchy chamois no good.

[helipinch]

I Have always used my bare hand and H20, Cold OK, the warmer the better. Hot watter will help take out the swirls from the last guy who did not polish out all his 210. Always up and down, in certain circumstances horizontal scratches could look like a power line, however my concern is that a power line could be mistaken for "that darn scratch!" :shock: Always use your bare hand (if its clean! ) because as stated earlier you can feel any grit or dirt that may scratch your window.

I have seen guys, with the morning dew, put 210 rite over the bugs! I would never do this, but it worked for them.

IN ALL CASES USE CLEAN WATER FIRST TO RINCE OFF ALL DUST AND DIRT!

I hope none of my Pilots are reading this, they will want me doing it all the time!!!

Pinch

 

P.S. I also remember, years ago, using "Mirror Glaze" which came in various grits and had a great scratch remover. Took LOTS of elbow grease though!

[Elvis]

Mirror glaze :down: :down: :down: :down:

[ArniePye]

Hi all, I'm having a discussion with another pilot on how to clean windows. He tells me that using 210 window wax is no good because if the sun hits it at just the right angle it glares. I know how I was taught at school and the company buys it for a reason. So what do you guys use and how do you do it? Thanks...ichi

[ArniePye]

Excess rubbing will create tiny scratches on plexi-glass, so proper washing requires lots and lots of water containing a surfactant, such as soap or detergent.

 

The surfactant reduces the surface tension of water so it won't bead but instead becomes very runny. This enables the water to soak into the bug bodies.

 

I like to apply a water/surfactant mixture twice with clean, soaking wet paper towel to make sure the bugs will slide off with very little rubbing.

 

Besides being a surfactant, soap or detergent will dissolve the oil from the bugs, so rain won't form patterns on the windscreen.

 

Coating is necessary to prevent bugs from adhering to the plexi-glass, thereby making their removal that much easier. I much prefer Pledge to 210 because it lasts much longer than 210. With Pledge I can do a full 2 hour loaded patrol and still get the bugs off the window easily.

 

Oldtimers taught me to use Pledge and I've continued to use it since the 70's without any problem at all. Wax buildup is never a problem either because I wash with soap.

 

Another great feature of Pledge is that you can apply it, give it a couple of wipes and your done. 210 needs to be rubbed and rubbed to get the visible film off.

 

Also, Pledge (unlike 210) can be applied in the pouring rain, something I've had to do many times.

 

One last comment: I let the engineer know that I'll take care of the windows. No matter how much care we take with our windows, an engineer can screw the whole thing up by scrubbing them with the brush he uses to clean the aircraft - usually when he thinks he's not being observed! :-)

[Fenestron]

good post arnie until the last statement....it all went downhill from there.

 

Don't paint all engineers with that brush (no pun intended)....you know full well the majority of us aren't that stupid, yet you still throw us into this big pile of shat that nobody likes to be in. For your info, I've seen more pilots wash the mud of the skid gear with the brush first then go after the black tailboom than I have seen engineers take a brush to the windows...

 

I have yet to see a pilot change a windshield, So i'm very reluctant to think they know how much of a pain in the a$$ it is versus how easy it is to care for the plastic. As engineers, we know....

 

you're humble apology is accepted in advance.