How to Clean a Pilatus PC-12: The Complete Dry Wash Guide

By the Fly Shiny team · Updated July 2026 · 15 years of professional aircraft detailing

Quick answer: To clean a Pilatus PC-12, remove the oil, grease, and hydraulic fluid with Fly Shiny Oil Delete, clean the landing gear, and take the bugs off the flaps with Bug Blitz. Dry wash the airframe with Quick Turn, remove the exhaust trail on the fuselage and inboard wings by misting Carbon Blitz onto a damp towel, then neutralize with Quick Turn. De-ice boots and a polished spinner get Quick Turn only — no cleaners. Protect with a ceramic coating, because PC-12 exhaust destroys wax.

Here's the full process, and why protection choice matters more on this turboprop than almost any other airframe.

PC-12 Cleaning at a Glance

Contaminant	Product	Where on the PC-12	The rule
Oil, grease, hydraulic fluid	Fly Shiny Oil Delete	Belly, gear areas	Non-flammable, paint-safe, won't soften paint
Exhaust soot	Fly Shiny Carbon Blitz — misted on a damp towel	Fuselage sides, inboard wings top and bottom	No hydrogen embrittlement, won't corrode or etch; always neutralize after
Bugs	Fly Shiny Bug Blitz	Leading edges, flap bottoms, windshield	Enzyme-based — attacks the bug, not the aircraft; never let it dry
De-ice boots + polished spinner	Fly Shiny Quick Turn ONLY	Wing/tail leading edges, spinner	No cleaners on boots or polished metal, period
Everything else	Fly Shiny Quick Turn	Entire airframe	Waterless dry wash that lubricates as it cleans and neutralizes cleaner residue
Protection	Fly Shiny Pro ceramic (best), Air Guard, Static Guard	Painted surfaces — never the windows	Exhaust eats wax; ceramic wins on this airframe

Why Is Cleaning a PC-12 Different?

The PC-12's PT6 sits up front, and its exhaust stacks paint a soot trail that runs down both sides of the fuselage and onto the inboard wing sections — top and bottom. That exhaust is corrosive, it builds every flight hour, and PC-12s fly a lot of hours. Add pneumatic de-ice boots that can't touch cleaners, a polished spinner, retractable gear with struts you must not wipe, and a pressurized cabin whose windows never get coated — and this airframe has more "know the rules" zones than almost anything else on the ramp.

Cleaning is preventative maintenance, not cosmetics. Exhaust soot turns corrosive when it mixes with moisture, bug remains etch paint, and cleaner residue left behind promotes corrosion. The process below handles all of it without water.

What Do You Need to Wash a Pilatus PC-12?

• Fly Shiny Oil Delete — oil, grease, and hydraulic fluid
• Fly Shiny Carbon Blitz — the exhaust trail
• Fly Shiny Bug Blitz — bugs on flaps, leading edges, and windshield
• Fly Shiny Quick Turn — the dry wash, the boot and spinner cleaner, and the neutralizing step
• Large twisted-pile drying towels, plus a dedicated window towel
• Disposable cotton terry towels for oil work
• Pitot/static covers; inlet and exhaust covers if you have them

Before You Start

Walkaround first: note existing damage, look for leaks — find one and you stop and tell the owner or mechanic before cleaning erases the evidence. Close the doors, cover the pitot probes and static ports, and get your covers on.

How to Dry Wash a Pilatus PC-12, Step by Step

Step 1: Oil, grease, and hydraulic fluid

Start with Oil Delete on a terry towel and wipe the oil, grease, and hydraulic fluid off the belly and gear areas. It's non-flammable and paint-safe — it won't soften the paint the way harsh solvents can.

Step 2: The landing gear

Clean the gear legs, doors, and wheels — but never wipe the polished section of the struts. That thin film of fluid is lubrication from the strut cycling; wipe it dry and you risk damaging the seals and creating a leak. Same care around small sensors and their wiring.

Step 3: Bugs off the flaps

The flap bottoms collect bugs most owners never see. Hit the flaps — especially the undersides — with Bug Blitz and wipe them clean.

Step 4: Dry wash the aircraft

Take a large drying towel, spray Quick Turn over the section you're working, and wipe. Anywhere there are bugs, spray Quick Turn first, then mist Bug Blitz over the top and let it dwell 30 to 60 seconds. Bug Blitz is enzyme-based — the enzymes attack and emulsify the bug remains, not the aircraft — so softened bugs wipe off without abrasion.

Never let cleaners dry on the surface. Working outside in the sun or wind? Reapply Quick Turn or more Bug Blitz to keep the area wet until you've wiped it. A dried cleaner is a stain waiting to happen.

Step 5: The exhaust trail — the PC-12 signature move

Here's the technique that separates PC-12 pros from everyone else. Take your dampest dry wash towel and mist Carbon Blitz onto the towel — not the aircraft. Wipe the exhaust sections: down the fuselage sides and across the inboard wings, top and bottom. The damp towel plus Carbon Blitz emulsifies the soot and lifts it without the cleaner ever sitting on the paint.

Then neutralize with Quick Turn — wipe every exhaust area again to remove all cleaner residue. Carbon Blitz won't cause hydrogen embrittlement, corrode, or etch the paint, but no cleaner ever gets left behind on this airframe.

Step 6: The Quick-Turn-only zones — boots, spinner, windows

De-ice boots: Quick Turn only. No cleaners on the boots — not Bug Blitz, not Carbon Blitz, nothing. Cleaners damage the boot coating, and a damaged boot is an expensive boot. Spray Quick Turn, wipe in long sections, repeat until clean.

Polished spinner: same rule. If it's polished, it gets Quick Turn only — anything stronger risks the finish.

Windows: the PC-12's cockpit windshields are glass, and Bug Blitz is perfectly fine for cleaning the bugs off them — just never let it dry. The cabin windows are acrylic, and exhaust film builds on them over time; Quick Turn keeps them clear. Finish all windows with a clean, dedicated window towel, wiping in the direction of airflow.

Final quality-control walkaround, pull the covers, done.

If the Paint Has Lost Its Gloss

Most PC-12s wear clear-coated paint, and clear coat responds beautifully to machine polishing. Fly Shiny Polish Pro removes the oxidation, swirls, and fine scratches and restores the depth. The rule that matters: oxidation comes off before protection goes on.

Protecting a PC-12: Why Ceramic Beats Wax on This Airframe

This is the decision that matters most on a PC-12, and it comes down to the exhaust.

Static Guard (wax): it works — but PC-12 exhaust is corrosive and deteriorates wax. Worse, removing the exhaust takes a cleaner, and the cleaner strips the wax. On this airframe you'd be reapplying constantly.

Air Guard (spray ceramic): a real step up. It lasts longer than wax, and you don't need chemicals as harsh to get the exhaust off.

Fly Shiny Pro (ceramic coating): the best answer for a PC-12. It lasts far longer than either option above, and once the aircraft is coated, that corrosive exhaust comes off with just Quick Turn — no aggressive cleaners, no stripping and reapplying protection, no fighting the soot trail every wash. Less chemical exposure for the paint, less labor for you, every single wash for years.

The window rule — no exceptions: the PC-12 is a pressurized aircraft, and no coating goes on any window. Not ceramic, not spray ceramic, not wax on the glass windshields. Windows get cleaned — Quick Turn, and Bug Blitz for bugs — and that's it.

Pilatus PC-12 Cleaning FAQ

What removes exhaust stains from a Pilatus PC-12?

Fly Shiny Carbon Blitz, misted onto your dampest dry wash towel — not onto the aircraft — then wiped across the soot trail on the fuselage sides and inboard wings, followed by a Quick Turn wipe to neutralize. No hydrogen embrittlement, no corrosion, no etching.

Can I use cleaners on de-ice boots?

No. De-ice boots get Quick Turn only. Cleaners damage the boot coating, and a damaged boot is a very expensive replacement.

What's the best paint protection for a PC-12?

A ceramic coating like Fly Shiny Pro. PC-12 exhaust is corrosive and deteriorates wax, and the cleaners needed to remove exhaust strip wax right off. With a ceramic coating, the exhaust comes off with just Quick Turn.

Can I ceramic coat the windows on a PC-12?

No. The PC-12 is pressurized — no ceramic coating, spray ceramic, or wax goes on any window, glass or acrylic. Windows get cleaned only.

Is Bug Blitz safe on the glass windshield?

Yes. It's enzyme-based and attacks the bug remains, not the surface. Just never let it — or any cleaner — dry on the aircraft.

How do I clean a polished spinner?

Quick Turn only. Anything stronger risks the polished finish.

Should I wipe the landing gear struts?

No. The polished section of the strut carries lubrication from cycling — wiping it dry risks damaging the seals and causing a leak. Clean around it, not on it.

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About Fly Shiny: Fly Shiny makes aviation-grade detailing chemicals formulated from 15 years of professional aircraft detailing experience, from piston singles to turboprops and jets. Every product in this guide is available at flyshiny.com. More in this series: How to Clean a Cirrus SR22 and How to Clean a Cirrus Vision Jet. Next: the King Air.