How Are Airplanes Painted?
Have you ever been wondering how are airplanes painted? How much paint is needed for this big birds? Not to mention how much time is spent waiting for the paint to get dry. The old saying is probably the result of this work.
The entire painting has a well-established procedure. There are well-established steps that must be followed.
First, the old paint is removed. You are certainly wondering why they do not paint over existing coat? As you probably know the weight issue on airplanes is very important. Painting over the existing color would increase the weight of the aircraft by over 500 kilograms. Now it’s clear to you why this is an indispensable step. Color removal is done with special fluids. These are ecologically adequate means for removing color, which is not harmful to employees and more efficiently removing the paint.
An airplane is partially sanded, partially stripped. Stripping is carried out using a liquid which, at 25°C, can strip an aircraft of all its paint in 24 hours. After all, color is removed, a primer is applied. Primer is basically designed for the preparation of a basic color adhesive, and are used to help seal the fuselage and protect it from corrosion.
Then it is approached by applying a new color. You probably noticed that the vast majority of the aircraft were white. Just as we dress in brighter colors during the summer, the same reason is for painting the plane in white. Bright colors, on the one hand, reflects the sun’s rays and reduces warming, and on the other hand, reduces possible damage from solar radiation.
The painting process lasts for days and involves several teams of painters and a lot of machines. Repainting requires a lot of money. “Approximately 120 gallons (454 liters) of paint is used on a typical 747; 90 gallons (341 liters) on a 767; and 110 gallons (416 liters) on a 777, while a typical 787 Dreamliner paint scheme involves 800-1000 lbs (362-453 kg) of paint,” said Boeing.
Planes are painted every ten years and are washed monthly. Repainting is a big job and can take a few weeks for biggest aircraft.
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