Photos taken after months of flying with repeated washings show that exhaust stains wash off readily from the areas treated with RejeX, rather then needing to be removed chemically with lots of scrubbing and rinsing. They treated one exhaust side with RejeX and the other with their old standby, a protective chemical product called AC-3. We were told that the Air Force conducted field tests of the product on freshly painted Black Hawk helicopters and C-130 turboprop transports. We checked with military users of RejeX and did our own testing. RejeX claims to form a long-lasting, glass-like barrier that prevents damage to paint from continuous exposure to exhaust gases and particulates. It’s best thought of as a sealant that closes up minute pores in the finish so bugs, oil, grease and exhaust have less “tooth” to gain purchase. RejeX is applied (usually by hand) out of a bottle but it takes no elbow grease to either wipe the stuff on or wipe the final haze off. The result is a material more like polish than a traditional oil-based anti-corrosion compound, such as CorrosionX, Boeshield T-9 or ACF-50, all of which are fogged for application. Reasoning that a surface protectant could also find a civil market, VanGilder funded a study and directed his lab researchers to explore a treatment that could enhance the protection offered by paint. When maintenance officers from the Air Force and Army approached Corrosion Technologies’ Jim VanGilder with this problem, he was familiar with their needs, since many units use CorrosionX for corrosion protection of airframes and equipment. While we fly around in shiny Bonanzas, the military uses flat or matt camo paint which makes it all the more difficult to remove bugs, surface contaminants and exhaust stains. For the military, exhaust stains on airframes are more than just a nuisance, but also a primary source of airframe corrosion and the stain disrupts the effectiveness of camouflage paint schemes. On the other hand, RejeX seems to work, both in our trials on airplanes and, more significantly, in the demanding world of military aircraft and vehicles where picky gunnery sergeants expect turbine exhaust tracks to pass white glove inspections.Īctually, RejeX owes its creation to military specs. If these claims sound like Billy Mays flogging Kaboom on cable channel 96, we’ll admit there’s a resemblance. According to Corrosion Technologies, RejeX is an “advanced polymer treatment” that’s neither a wax nor a polish but a sealant that protects underlying surfaces. RejeX is a surface treatment developed by Corrosion Technologies Corp., the same company responsible for the CorrosionX anti-corrosion system that we’ve recommended in previous reports. We recently field tested a relatively new product called RejeX that claims to protect finishes of all kinds from bug, exhaust and oil damage.Īnd while it doesn’t quite cause these insults to the finish to slough off without a trace, it makes stains easier to remove and leaves a much smoother, impervious surface. Regular waxing seems to help with both but who has time to wax an airplane five or six times a year? You’d think someone would come up with some chemical goo that would cause bugs and exhaust to slough off. These tarnish even a factory-fresh paint job in mere hours and they cause just as much damage to the paint, albeit in more limited areas. Sunlight and moisture spell slow doom for aircraft paint but what really gets most owners’ attention is bug splats and exhaust stains.
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