Fuel Stain Remover

[PilotMikeTX]

Had my thinking cap on the other day and decided to try some carb cleaner on the fuel stains behind my fuel sump drains. Worked like magic. The stains came off completely with one swipe of the towel. Followed up with some good ol' H2O and a dry towel. I'm sure I'm probably the last kid on my block to think of this, but for what it's worth it works very well.

Now I must replace the offending valves.

[zero.one.victor]

Aerosol brake-cleen works good too-- probably the same stuff. Might not want to let it sit on there too long though....

[170C]

Scrubbing Bubbles bathroom/kitchen fixture cleaner works really well on fuel stains and oily bellys. Comes in aerosol cans.

[Dave Clark]

Supercoat or many other waxes and prewax cleaners will do it most of the time with much less risk of damage.

Also maybe it's time to change your quick drains. I never get a stain behind mine.

[blueldr]

Use MOGAS and you wont have any stains!

[cessna170bdriver]

Use MOGAS and you wont have any stains!

Yeah, all the alcohol in the fuel keeps the stain dissolved!

[zero.one.victor]

Use MOGAS and you wont have any stains!

Not true, it's just that the stains will be brown instead of blue. The fuel stains behind my fuel drains & fuel caps match the stains on the upholstery from my STOL work!

Eric

[kmisegades]

I use both MOGAS and 100LL. MOGAS stains are by far the worse of the two; makes you wonder about filth in it that our motor can tolerate. My paint is rather thin, so I prefer avoding these harsh solvents. Try good old Maguiers' car wax on them. There is enough of an abrasive in it to remove the stain, and the final result is a polished surface, too. I eliminated most stains by new gaskets and new filler necks. Check your old filler necks as these can be corroded where the next attaches to the upper surface of the fuel tank. A bit of a pain and expense to replace, however this did the trick for me. Nice and clean upper wing surface now. Too bad however that there is no STC for those nice flush caps like on Bonanzas. Or is there? The recess around the filler cap, a great place for water to sit and corrode, sure seems like a dumb idea to me. Wow - flew at 7500-8500 feet from Raleigh,NC to Decatur, AL and back this weekend. Smooth as silk and extreme CAVU. Burned only 7 GPH including long cruise climb with two souls, baggage and full fuel on board and one refueling stop. What an airplane!