Aircraft Coatings and Aircraft Paints

In tune with environmental concerns, PPG Aerospace’s global flagship coating, Desothane® HS topcoat, is the only low-VOC topcoat approved by both Boeing and Airbus. Some of the most harmful chemicals found in paint are volatile organic compounds, or VOCs. VOCs are unstable, carbon-containing compounds that readily vaporize into the air. When they enter the air, they react with other elements to produce ozone, which causes air pollution and a host of health issues including breathing problems, headache, burning, watery eyes and nausea. Some VOCs also have been linked to cancer, as well as kidney and liver damage.

Aircraft manufacturers, airlines and maintenance operations rely on aircraft coatings from primers for composite and metallic airframes to topcoats in standard, metallic and mica colours. Innovative Selectively Strippable Systems combine long-term performance with efficient topcoat removal for repainting.

Aircraft maintenance chemicals include paint and coating removers, US military approved products and interior and exterior aircraft cleaners.

General and commercial aircraft coatings, primers and topcoats.

Akzo Nobel Aerospace Coatings is one company manufacturing high solids polyurethane aircraft topcoats. Chemically cured, low VOC topcoats are designed to provide premium gloss, superior chemical and stain resistance, and flexibility. Acid in the upper atmosphere had resulted in a significant increase in complaints from airlines about loss of gloss, colour shift, and loss of paint adhesion from rivets called rivet rash. The customer complaints led Boeing to develop a topcoat test incorporating alternating acid and UV exposure. This test confirmed the poor gloss performance of the high-solvent topcoats being used at the time and the potential for improved performance with new high-solids topcoats.

Polyester urethane paints for aircraft.

Topcoat is a two-component polyurethane or acrylic urethane finish which provides a rich, high gloss finish. Formulated to the demanding requirements of the aerospace market, this product will provide superior colour and gloss retention, along with excellent chemical, and abrasion resistance. Polyurethanes have excellent wet look appearance, mechanical performance, UV resistance, and chemical resistance compared with other coatings. Polyurethanes can he applied as higher solids or powder coatings without loss of performance. As a result, polyurethanes are the market leader for coating metallic and plastic substrates in numerous high-end and highly visible applications today. In the future, the performance of urethane coatings will allow them to be used in a broader spectrum of applications.

Aerospace advanced micas.

Micas create a, some would say, controversial appearance on aircraft liveries. This repairable high solid formulation is flexible with optimal processing behaviour regardless of environmental conditions. Virgin have adopted silver mica. The colour has large flakes of silver in it, no white. It looks white from some angles because of the way the sun reflects off the silver particles in the paint… iridescence.

Special Effect coatings change the colour of an aircraft, depending on the lighting and the viewing angle. An aircraft can, for example, appear royal blue from one viewpoint, and purple from another. Iridescent effects are a distinctive way to combine colours for an unusual, eye-catching finish.