Aircraft Detailing, Done at Your Hangar

• Fully insured
• Aviation-approved products only
• Overnight turnarounds
• PDK · FTY · RYY · LZU · FFC

What aircraft detailing actually is

Aircraft detailing is the cleaning, correction and protection of an aircraft's exterior finish and interior surfaces using products approved for aviation use. It goes beyond washing: a detail addresses bonded contamination, oxidation, brightwork, de-ice boots, acrylic windows, cabin leather and the flight deck, each with different chemistry and technique.

Obsidian Aviation performs this work at the owner's hangar or FBO anywhere in the Atlanta metropolitan area, so the aircraft never has to be repositioned.

The distinction that matters to an owner is this. A wash is maintenance of appearance. A detail is maintenance of the finish, and the finish is a maintenance item. Exhaust soot is acidic and etches paint. Bug strike bonds to clear coat under Georgia sun. Once oxidation reaches primer, no amount of polishing brings it back and the only remedy is paint.

Clean paint is also inspectable paint. Nobody finds a weeping fitting, a stress crack or a loose fastener under a layer of grime.

What is included

Exterior

Interior

More on cabin and flight deck interior detailing.

Protection

More on ceramic coating and paint protection.

Why aviation detailing is not car detailing

Ammonia-based glass cleaner can crack aircraft windows. Aircraft transparencies are acrylic, not glass. Standard household and automotive glass cleaner attacks them and causes crazing that cannot be polished out.

Wet washing can damage landing gear seals and corrode electrical connectors. Water driven into gear components and connector housings is a real airworthiness concern, which is why waterless dry wash is the default on business aircraft rather than a budget shortcut.

Cleaning products must come from the aircraft maintenance manual, or carry engineering approval. This is not a preference. Using an unapproved chemical on a certificated aircraft is a maintenance issue, not a cosmetic one.

A polisher calibrated for automotive clear coat will burn through aircraft paint. Aircraft finishes vary enormously in hardness and film thickness, and control surfaces and composite fairings are thinner still. Pad and compound selection is made per aircraft, per panel.

Static wicks, static ports and antenna bases are hand-worked or masked. Never machined. Damage there is airworthiness, not appearance.

What aircraft detailing costs

There is no single price, because a Cirrus and a Challenger are not the same job. What can be stated is how a quote is built and roughly where the market sits. Published industry references put typical ranges at:

Figures above are third-party industry references for context, not Obsidian Aviation's rates.

Four things drive your number: aircraft size, current condition, the services selected, and access at your field. Condition is the big one. A first visit on a neglected aircraft carries all the accumulated work; the same aircraft on a standing program costs meaningfully less per visit forever after.

We quote firm and in writing before anyone touches the aircraft. No hourly drift.

Aircraft we service

Flying a business jet on a tight schedule? See overnight private jet detailing.

Where we work in metro Atlanta

Obsidian Aviation is mobile. All work happens at your hangar or on the ramp at your home field.

How a detail runs

1. Quote. Send your tail number, aircraft type and home field. We price from type and condition and put it in writing.
2. Schedule. We confirm hangar access and FBO coordination, and build the job backwards from your next departure.
3. Detail. Performed to a written checklist specific to your aircraft type. Nothing improvised.
4. Document. Photo set on completion, plus a note on anything we found that your maintenance provider should know about.
5. Interval. Industry guidance is a wash every six to eight weeks depending on utilization, with a full detail two to three times a year. Aircraft parked outside in Georgia need the shorter end of that.