Aeroshell Introduces Flight Jacket Aircraft Polishes and Cleaners

... and Introducing Renny Doyle, Shine Guy

I met Renny Doyle at the AOPA Expo this week, and he's a remarkable guy. He's a former cop and a clean freak, who is also one of the top detailers in the country; and he's recently joined Aeroshell as a consultant, to help introduce the petrol giant's line of finish-care products.

Renny details both cars and airplanes; but he "got into it backwards; I got forced into the cars because our clients have cars... they have one airplane and four cars, so we included cars in the detailing business."

Curently consulting on the restoration (for the Reagan Museum) of President Ronald Reagan's 707 Air Force One, he also has done a complete restoration on the first jet Air Force One, used by Dwight Eisenhower (a different 707). "We learned a lot about that plane, that the general public doesn't know about... a lot of the cre members came thropugh the projecct, as we were restoring it." His next big project? Spiffing up the Concorde that's going into the National Air and Space Museum.

Neglect is not good for aircraft.

Talking of the presidential plane, Renny told me, "We brought back to life the paint, the interiors, and especially the brightwork." The brightwork hadn't been touched in 10 years. "It literally had moss growing on it," he said, up at Boeing Field in Seattle. "We had to start from ground zero, and put some 300 hours on it." How did it go? "Boeing had planned to repaint the airplane; when we finished the project, they announced they weren't going to repaint it after all. That was a big complement to us, and to the product line." The product line? Aeroshell is now in the cleaning and protectants business, and they've entered in a scientific, customer-centric way. It took years... for a reason.

How did they do this?

Aeroshell identified "the things of importance." They asked several of the top detailers in the country, and pilots at Sun 'n Fun and at Oshkosh, to identify the products they'd most like to have. The pilots cited the windscreens and the paint; and they wanted a leading-edge cleaner, a dry wash; and an oil and exhaust cleaner. Inside, they wanted to clean not only leather, but also vinyl and plastic.

Renny continued, "We told Aeroshell what they needed, to do what they wanted to do, and they asked us about the relative importance of a lot of additional parameters -- safety for operators, mil spec certifications, environmental issues," Remmy said, "and of course the finishes and fabric, and the plexiglas."

Well, it's a start.

Mr. Doyle remembered that, once Aeroshell had the basic parameters -- applications and performance -- lined up, the real work began. "We sent Aeroshell 50, maybe 60 products that we liked, and they started analyzing them. They would, over a three and a half year period, send us examples of products they were developing; we'd use them, and send them the results of what they did, and they'd refine the product some more." Just a bottle with a description, and a number: 'Polish 14,' or 'Interior Cleaner 04.' Doyle continued, "We didn't know what formula was in them. The containers weren't identified to us -- just the product use, and a number. We'd come up with some nickname... another detailer, for instance, came up with 'Touch and Go.' It was a natural name, for the between-wash cleaner/protectant."

Even after the recommendations started gelling, the ex-officer said, "We were impressed with how much diligence they did before they released the products."

Aeroshell was impressed with Doyle's shop, too. "Even before Aeroshell came to us, we ourselves spent about $6000 for a salvaged airplane, just to test our processes and products on it," he said. "They [Aeroshell] came to visit us, and here's this Cessna bolted to the wall, cut in half, with all kinds of chunks cut out of it -- we did our own brittleness tests, corrosion tests -- anything that could cause trouble, we tested it. Aeroshell liked that."

Tips from the pro, for us mortals:

There are a lot of mistakes that are common among owners. After all, all we want to do is preserve an airplane that's worth more than our house... with the cheapest stuff we can buy. Not good.

Remmy remembered, "...one gentleman who called us with a problem with a buffer. He had a cheap buffer, and the bolt that holds the pad had backed out. He had scratched up a large part of his tail -- a good 18 or 24 inches, just destroyed... he did maybe three big circles before he realized he had a problem." When he asked if Remmy could fix it, it must have hurt to find out that the answer was, "Sure. First you get this new piece of sheet metal..."

Don't use household cleaners and products on airplanes. Remmy said "Some of the worst things: they use common household products on aircraft, without knowing or thinking about the long-term effects. The military has stopped the use of certain of those products... they've had to take aircraft out of service, due to the regular use of household products." Another thing to look out for: "People also use ammonia products (like glass cleaners) on brightwork... about three months later, its' not shiny any more." Glass cleaners are for glass, not metal, and not your airplane's plastic.

Just because it works on a show car doesn't mean it works on an airplane.

"We've even used some of the best car waxes on aircraft," Remmy said, "and they don't work worth a darn. A product that might last two or three months on a car, is gone in a day or two on an airplane." It takes more work, and a different product, to make your airplane shine like a show car.

Here's a common problem: "A lot of automotove waxes are paste, and they'll work their way under the rivet heads. Eventually they can loosen the rivets and help cause loose skin, and invite corrosion. The polish in the Aeroshell Flight Jacket line is designed to flow around the rivet heads, rather than build up under -- and it can even be applied in direct sunlight."

With that extra work, comes extra convenience, too, though. Doyle noted that, "We left the 'wax' on some T-6s, in the sun, at Oshkosh, all day -- and it just wiped off. This is a very high-tech acrylic resin -- there just isn't anything out there that looks as good, with this kind of shine -- and it lasts a long time."

He continued, "Most competitors get either a shine, or longevity -- I honestly haven't seen anything that can do both, for anywhere near as long. It's the ploymer/resin/acrylic blend that allows it to last so long, and look so good," [like on the Aeroshell aerobatic T-6s --ed.]

What about tube and rag?

Fabric airplanes can use the polish, also. Our expert told me, "It takes very little pressure to put it on, or take it off." It's mild on the floth and paint, too: "I've done literally hundreds of fabric airplanes with it, and we haven't had a single issue," he said. "You can achieve a brilliant finish by hand; you don't need a machine," Doyle reminded us, "and there's a lot less potential for hurting the finish, when using lower pressures, and when applying by hand."

"People use a lot of automotive parts cleaners for oil grime, and exhaust smudges. Even if you clean that stuff off the airplane, we're worried about the long-term effects," he said. Some solvents will let semi-dissolved dirt flow past wipers and seals, inviting strut scoring and seal failure. Engine cleaning sprays, no mater how carefully-applied, will always leave residue -- potentially harmful residue -- where you can't wash it off, or wipe it off.

Can you see me, now?

"Old t-shirts and diapers aren't good for windscreens," Remmy noted. "They're just huge sanding blocks, using the grime they're trying to remove." Newspapers aren't the way to go, either. "Micro-fiber towels are the best we've ever seen for plexiglas -- they're soft, they wick away the fluids, and they're porous, so the dirt can go into the cloth, instead of scratching the plexi. After a washing and drying, they're good to go again. We're getting 150+ washes out of ours... for a consumer, they'll last 'forever.' A cotton cloth lasts us about 6 to 8 months; a micro-fiber cloth lasts three years or better -- and we wash those more-often than the cotton cloths." He admitted that, if you use the cleaning cloths for their best-suited purposes, "Cotton has a tougher life, but the micro-fiber cloths are still longer-living."

It's not in the kit; it didn't have to be, and good shops already carry good products, so Aeroshell didn't see the purpose of duplicating the art. However, it's a trick the pros use, and Remmy wanted to share it: "We also use a lof of 'body clay,' to remove contaminants (bird deposits, squished bugs, brake dust). The clay (available at upper-tier detailing departments, and body shops) just picks that stuff up."

Time marches on. "For buffing, that old wool pad has been surpassed by foam pads," Doyle told me. Different colors denote different 'aggression levels' for making that surface shine. A white pad or a black pad may be what you want, even if your buffer came with yellow. How will you know what color to use on your machine? "Ask a local expert," Remmy advised.

You can now get "The Right Stuff"

The Flight Jacket products have just started showing up at retail -- pilot stores and FBOs. The attractive, leak-resistant introductory pouch, with two micro-fiber cloths and the entire liquid product line, is available, for $99.95; the products -- Polish; 'Plexicoat;' Oil and Exhaust Remover; the touch-up called 'Touch & Go;' the Interior Cleaner and Interior Conditioner; the hand pad and micro-fiber cloths -- are included in that kit; and they're available separately, of course.

These products don't cost more than high-line automotive products; there's just no reason any more to put car stuff on your airplane. Oh -- and since everyone asks, no; they don't contain silicones.

FMI: www.aeroshell.com; www.wingsorwheels.com; the New Flight Jacket Product Line