The infinite flight steam blog is happy to announce season 2 after a break.
Currently in the works is season 3 as well as video format for the articles and a website. As usual discussion is highly encouraged.
In this episode of the infinite flight steam blog we will be discussing how aircraft are repainted.
An airlines livery to symbolize the airline as well as protect the aircraft. Before any paint is applied the skin of the aircraft needs to be protected with masking tape. The tape will protect parts that the airline does not want paint on such as vents and engine components. The aircraft will then receive three layers of paint. The base layer will help the subsequent layers adhere to the aircraft skin. The second layer is typically made up of a base color such as white or the airlines major color. The third layer will be more of the special fragile details such as the globe on the tail for United or the maple leaf on air Canada. Computer aided design assists with planning out the livery as well as the airlines logos and small details. On top of that a thin clear layer will be applied to help protect and extend the life span of the paint. All of the paint layers needed to be as thin as possible to reduce weight. The average paint used per aircraft can weigh up to several hundred pounds. The more paint used the more fuel an aircraft burns. There are several special products to help reduce fuel burn regarding paint and aircraft skin such as aero shark. Aircraft need to be repainted every 7-10 years. During the repaint, the old paint will be stripped either by hand or by chemicals. The skin then needs to be sanded. The new paint job may be the same livery or it might be new such as a new house or special livery. The average cost for painting an aircraft can cost more than $150,000. The average time for a paint is around a two weeks.
This is a good Timelapse showing the process.