Old timer showed me the right way to clean a turbine blade and I felt like an idiot

I spent like 6 years scraping carbon off high-pressure turbine blades with a brass brush and solvent. Then I saw this veteran mechanic at O'Hare just soaking them in a specific solution overnight and wiping them down. He told me I was basically sanding the coating off every time I hit it with that brush. Now I just let them soak in the tank for 12 hours and use a soft cloth. Has anyone else had a senior mechanic humble you with a dead simple trick like that?

2 comments

2 Comments

michael_craig15d ago

Ate my words real fast when a old timer at the hangar showed me how to prime a fuel nozzle by just dipping it in solvent instead of bench bleeding it for 20 minutes, @noah_webb - felt like a total rookie after six years of doing it the hard way.

noah_webb15d ago

Oh man, that's the worst feeling when you realize you've been grinding away at parts for years and some old head casually drops the real method on you like it's nothing. It's a brutal but good lesson that most of the time the easy way is actually the right way because it doesn't destroy the parts.