Who Knows About Aviation Paint ??

[ecotourist]

What does it cost to polish the Aluminum?

We're restoring a WWII Lancaster, but also converting it to post war Search And Rescue colours. That will mean a lot of shiny aluminum. I've taken the corrosion off of a few square feet of the front section and it was a really big job.

Some parts have been painted with (presumably) Zinc Chromate primer. One of our guys spent a whole day stripping a couple of small parts (a few square feet probably). He got them down to bare metal with paint stripper and determination.

 

[chainblu]

Over 25 years ago I painted a car with Boeing 707 Gray (2 part Poly). Still polishes out very nicely.

 

[nthach]

IIRC, American Airlines used to brag in their in-flight magazine about how much fuel their polished aluminum airplanes saved by being lighter than painted airplanes.

And they’ve gone back to paint with their brand refresh of 2012-2013, naked carbon fiber(if they bought 787/A350 and the amount of composites have increased on many airliners these days) just isn’t a good look. Not to mention the epoxy/polyester resins used in composites also doesn’t handle UV well.

The old American bare metal livery is kinda reminiscent of Amtrak.

 

[PimTac]

We're restoring a WWII Lancaster, but also converting it to post war Search And Rescue colours. That will mean a lot of shiny aluminum. I've taken the corrosion off of a few square feet of the front section and it was a really big job.

Some parts have been painted with (presumably) Zinc Chromate primer. One of our guys spent a whole day stripping a couple of small parts (a few square feet probably). He got them down to bare metal with paint stripper and determination.

I spent many hours trying to sand down zinc chromate from boat and ship superstructures that were aluminum. That stuff was tough. Eventually we just put another coat of primer over the old and continued on.

 

[PimTac]

Air New Zealand has the most unique paint job in my opinion.

 

[john_pifer]

The main brands used on the Embraer regional jets I work on are Axon, Hentzen, Eclipse (Akzo-Nobel).

The exterior paint coatings on airliners is some tough stuff.

 

[john_pifer]

One common brownish/reddish CIC (corrosion inhibiting coating) is Ardrox brand, AV-30.

ARDROX® AV 30 Brown Penetrating Water Displacing Corrosion Inhibiting Compound - Liter Can

ARDROX® AV 30 Brown Penetrating Water Displacing Corrosion Inhibiting Compound - Liter Can - Visit and view our entire SkyGeek, Shop Supplies, Corrosion Inhibitor, Chemetall Ardrox® AV 30 Corrosion Inhibiting Compound, section at SkyGeek!

skygeek.com

Yep, the Ardrox is what we use. There’s Type 1, which is thinner, and Type 2, which is thicker and spec’d for use in areas where corrosion is likely to start (gear wells, frames underneath galleys/lavs, etc). AV-8 is Type 1, and AV-30 is Type 2, while AV-15 can be used in place of either, so that’s what we most often use.