How to Choose an Aircraft Detailing Company: 8 Questions to Ask

General business insurance usually doesn't cover damage to an aircraft. Ask for proof of aviation liability coverage before anyone touches the airplane. Many FBOs require it for ramp and hangar access.

A good detailer arranges ramp or hangar access, follows the FBO's safety and fuel-truck rules, and works around tows and departures, so you or your crew don't have to be there.

Aircraft need products made for aviation paint, acrylic and polycarbonate windows, bare aluminum, and rubber de-ice boots. Household or automotive chemicals can damage windows, seals, and coatings. Ask what they use and whether it's approved for aviation.

The answer should be immediate and specific: no pressurized water or product near probes and ports, covers that are always accounted for and removed, and care around angle-of-attack vanes and antennas. Hesitation here is a red flag.

You want a detailer who stops and tells you, using the correct part name and location, rather than polishing over it. Ideally the crew knows aircraft well enough to recognize what's worth a mechanic's look.

A piston single, a turboprop, and a large-cabin jet each have different surfaces, coatings, and sensitive areas. Experience across aircraft classes means fewer surprises.

Aircraft schedules don't keep business hours. Ask whether they work nights and weekends, how quickly they can turn an aircraft, and whether they'll come to the airport where it's parked.

If the same team can restock the cabin, deliver catering, clean the hangar, or handle disinsection for an international leg, that's fewer vendors for your crew to manage.

We're aviation-insured, we coordinate directly with your FBO, and we work 24/7 at 70+ airports across Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, and Washington. We use aviation-appropriate products, protect probes, ports, and de-ice boots, and report anything we find by part name and location. We're also pilot-owned and operated, and beyond detailing we handle catering, cabin provisioning, hangar cleaning, disinsection, and charter arranged through FAA Part 135 operators.