Waxing Poly Tone surfaces

[randylervold]

Several owners have asked us what wax to use on the silver Poly Tone painted surfaces of our "Performance" paint schemes. The answer is none. Poly Tone is a light weight finish that does not fully fill the weave of the fabric. Any paste or liquid wax that is applied therefore cannot be wiped off, but rather will collect in the low spots of the fabric weave. To a lesser extent the same goes with all of the "quick detailers" out there, it just won't be as noticeable.

While the quick detailer waxes will indeed make the polyurtheance portion of the paint scheme a bit glossier temporarily they really don't prolong its life at all -- polyurethane paint is very tough stuff. Mild car wash soap and water are really the best thing for cleaning your Performance paint finish.

You'll find that a wet microfiber cloth works very well for bugs on the leading edges and windscreen, and mineral spirits or other mild sovents can be used for stubborn grease or oil spots. Any of the plexi treatments such as Plexus work well on all the windows and tend to fill in all the swirl marks making them look clearer in bright sunlight. Quick detailers work just fine on all the windows as well.

We will include language to this effect in our next maintenance manual update, but please pass the word to any Carbon Cub owners in the mean time.

Blue skies!

[chipallen]

Back in my J-3 days, I had an older (75) guy here in Atlanta (who spent his entire life building Cub and Stearman wings) tell me that Pledge Furniture Wipes are as good as anything. I keep a pack of them in the back of the demo, and they really do a great job of removing bugs, and restoring the shine to the fabric. I've also used Maguires automotive touch-up spray with a soft cloth for that "airshow gloss". Both seem to work well, and no issues with the fabric.