Car cleaning videos are incredibly satisfying to watch, with all manner of foams and sprays seamlessly picking up dirt and grime before your very eyes. Did you know the kinds of detailers who work on multi-million-dollar cars also work on private jets for billionaires? Well, it turns out they do and the process of cleaning down a private plane requires an attention to detail I can barely fathom.
American detailing company University Mobile Detailers documents its work cleaning the vehicles of the rich and famous over on YouTube. On its channel, you can watch crews wash down Porsches, vintage Jeeps and million-dollar private jets.
The team broke down the steps in detailing a $10 million private plane in a recent update, and it’s almost as satisfying as watching a barn find supercar get its first wash in decades. For UMD, the process starts by spraying the jet down with a no-rinse cleaner, before it’s wiped all over with microfiber cloths to collect every last spec of dirt and grime.
The windows and leading edges of the wings are also polished up at this stage, so the jet looks as good as new whenever its owners next want to look down on the poor from 45,000 feet up.
The biggest shock to me is the amount of time it takes to do all this. It takes a full day of spraying and wiping by hand to clean the wings and exterior of the aircraft. On top of that, the team often has to spend extra hours scratching off all the bugs that get baked onto the jet’s engines. Gross.
With the exterior complete, the team heads inside to basically start cleaning down a penthouse apartment in the sky.
Inside, they steam clean the seats, carpets and windows to clear away any grime, and wipe down all the surfaces. On this jet, there are tables, a galley and a desk that all require cleaning, before UMD can vacuum away any remaining dust and grime.
One step in the process that is essential for a plane but never seen when cleaning a supercar is called Residual Disinsection. This is required by some countries when you fly to them and sees the team fog the jet’s cabin with pesticides over a period of a few hours. This kills off any bugs that may be hiding in cracks and crevices onboard and, once it’s complete, the jet is ready to load up with rich people and head onto its destination.
If you’re a neat freak yourself and want to waste away hours watching people clean stuff, then head here to meet the people who keep London’s street-parked supercars looking spotless. Or, over here, you can watch a vintage icon get its first wash in decades.