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Aircraft Painting 101
by Dale Smith
If you do your homework and plan it all just right, taking delivery of your newly painted beauty can be one of the top ownership experiences.
PHOTO COURTESY OF STEVEN'S AEROSPACE & DEFENSE
“Painting is easy when you don’t know how,
but very difficult when you do.” – Edgar Degas, French impressionist.
Obviously, Monsieur Degas “The primary goal of an aircraft’s one customer come in here where
was not talking about paint- ing airplanes when he made his famous statement. But,
very he well could have been.
I think we have all witnessed plenty of examples of the proverbial “20-foot paint job.” You know, the ones that look great from a distance, then when you get up close, it’s more why than wow. Before we get into all the possible pitfalls of a poorly done paint job and how to avoid them, let’s revisit why the condition and care of your aircraft’s paint scheme are so vitally important.
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paint is corrosion protection. Air- craft are exposed to very harsh con- ditions, and the paint is the only barrier between them and the air- frame,” explained Mike Royals, paint manager, Stevens Aerospace and Defense Systems. “If you see damage to the paint on the form of chips or dings, they become an entry point for moisture and contaminants to attack the metals underneath.”
“Moisture gets under the paint, and the damage can spread pretty fast in many conditions,” he added. “We had
they had let the paint chip off of the aircraft’s belly until it created a very serious problem.”
But, even with the most diligent at- tention to the paint’s condition, sooner or later, it’s just going to get too old. Over time, the prior-generation paints dry out and start to crack.
“The first sure sign that the paint has really oxidized beyond repair is that you can’t buff it out any longer and starts to crack and peel,” explained Yingling Aviation Paint Supervisor Walter Krolikowski. “You’ll also start