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Paint In The Wings...why Not?
As we can see in the winglets, most of the airlines are using colors, but why not on the whole wing ? Is it to reduce costs? or there's a particular technical reason?
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RE: Paint In The Wings...why Not?
Costs less and weighs less. That much paint is sure to add many pounds to a wing. Some airlines do paint the wings though.
RE: Paint In The Wings...why Not?
Wings also flex a lot. Might be harder to make paint stick.
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RE: Paint In The Wings...why Not?
Well, a stupid question: why are airliners painted at all? Just for marketing or also for technical reasons? In the 70s, many airlines did not paint the a/c's belly.
A350
A350
RE: Paint In The Wings...why Not?
A properly done paint job serves as a good protection against corrosion, something you have to do something else to prevent otherwise. Polished aluminium looks very good. Unpolished raw aluminium looks really bad. Polishing aluminium to look good is a LOT of work, translating into a huge cost.
[Edited 2005-02-14 19:23:04]
[Edited 2005-02-14 19:23:04]
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RE: Paint In The Wings...why Not?
Not a stupid questionA350. Airliners are painted for many different reasons.
- Marketing - Companies want brand recognition with a distinctive look. It's much easier to achieve this with paint.
- Corrosion prevention - There is debate as to whether the benefits paint provides in this area are worth the drawbacks(weight, cost, MX, bad appearance of a poor paint job) but many operators feel that it is worth it.
- Composite protection. - All composite surfaces on airplanes have to be painted to protect them from UV and moisture damage.
I'm sure there are others they just don't come to mind right now.
Bongo Many airlines do paint the wings but with a gray primer called aluminized primer. This provides corrosion protection but looks like a bare wing. I think you don't see color very much because it shows the dirt very well as this thread and accompanying picture show. https://www.airliners.net/discussions...eneral_aviation/read.main/1953912/
The photo shows the flaps painted the standard gloss light gray which shows dirt very well. The wing ahead of it is painted in aluminized primer which appears a darker flat gray. Granted the flaps get dirtier than the wing ahead of it because of fluid leaks in lines on the rear spar and sloppy grease jobs, but the same things happen at the front spar and the wing gets dirty from that. The aluminized primer just does a better job of not showing it.
Hope that helps.
Dl757Md
757 Most beautiful airliner in the sky!
RE: Paint In The Wings...why Not?
How do airlines such as AA and Aeromexico protect the fuselage of their airplanes with the bare metal look finish? Is there a clearcoat or something applied to the bare metal?
RE: Paint In The Wings...why Not?
Klc317
Aircraft skins use a type of sheetmetal called Alclad. Aircraft aluminums are alloyed and heat treated to provide the desired strength characteristics. Pure aluminum is very weak and is not suitable for aircraft applications. It is, however, very corrosion resistant. Pure aluminum forms a thin layer of oxidation on its surface that protects the metal underneath similar to how copper patinas. Alloyed aluminums are prone to corrosion due to the other metals contained within them. Alclad is simply a sheet of alloyed aluminum with a thin layer of pure aluminum sprayed onto it. The pure aluminum forms its surface oxidation which then protects the stronger alloyed metal underneath. The oxidation is a dull gray or black and can be removed with polishing to make the aluminum shiny again. This does remove some material but it is of little consequence since the oxidation layer is a few microns thick while the Alclad layer is several thousands thick.
Dl757Md
Aircraft skins use a type of sheetmetal called Alclad. Aircraft aluminums are alloyed and heat treated to provide the desired strength characteristics. Pure aluminum is very weak and is not suitable for aircraft applications. It is, however, very corrosion resistant. Pure aluminum forms a thin layer of oxidation on its surface that protects the metal underneath similar to how copper patinas. Alloyed aluminums are prone to corrosion due to the other metals contained within them. Alclad is simply a sheet of alloyed aluminum with a thin layer of pure aluminum sprayed onto it. The pure aluminum forms its surface oxidation which then protects the stronger alloyed metal underneath. The oxidation is a dull gray or black and can be removed with polishing to make the aluminum shiny again. This does remove some material but it is of little consequence since the oxidation layer is a few microns thick while the Alclad layer is several thousands thick.
Dl757Md
757 Most beautiful airliner in the sky!
RE: Paint In The Wings...why Not?
The wings on our Aircraft do have a Paint job of a dull gray colour.
Also believe if corrosion protection is the concern then this serves the purpose.
Also a Brighter colour could look dirty in case of paint peeling & Hyd leaks.
regds
MEL
Also believe if corrosion protection is the concern then this serves the purpose.
Also a Brighter colour could look dirty in case of paint peeling & Hyd leaks.
regds
MEL
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- AirWillie6475
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RE: Paint In The Wings...why Not?
I'm wondering why would you paint a wing? Nothing's coming up. Oh wait a minute it's pointless.
RE: Paint In The Wings...why Not?
I'm wondering why would you paint a wing
Corrosion protection accompanied by Good looks
regds
MEL
Corrosion protection accompanied by Good looks
regds
MEL
I may not win often, but I damn well never lose!!!
RE: Paint In The Wings...why Not?
Forgive my jumping in here, but aren't the tops of most wings painted...white, but still painted, or am I horribly mistaken?
...and for that strength Alcad (and related metals) are darn expensive. My dad is in mid-upper management for a A/B/other B/E/F/etc. supplier that handles the heat treating (outsourced), does the forming and quite a few of the cuts, plus leading edges. When I talk to him about prices -- even for "scraps" my thought is always "I could buy my next new car for less than that!"
Assuming you're referring to Alcad, I beg to differ, I've seen panels on the factory floor, fresh from being formed and milled and they look beautiful. It's amazing to see peice of raw sheet stock going in vs. how much is left after they're finished 'etching' (can't think of the right word) all of the excess off.
Lincoln
| Quoting Dl757md (reply 7): Aircraft skins use a type of sheetmetal called Alclad. Aircraft aluminums are alloyed and heat treated to provide the desired strength characteristics. |
...and for that strength Alcad (and related metals) are darn expensive. My dad is in mid-upper management for a A/B/other B/E/F/etc. supplier that handles the heat treating (outsourced), does the forming and quite a few of the cuts, plus leading edges. When I talk to him about prices -- even for "scraps" my thought is always "I could buy my next new car for less than that!"
| Quoting FredT (reply 4): Unpolished raw aluminium looks really bad. |
Assuming you're referring to Alcad, I beg to differ, I've seen panels on the factory floor, fresh from being formed and milled and they look beautiful. It's amazing to see peice of raw sheet stock going in vs. how much is left after they're finished 'etching' (can't think of the right word) all of the excess off.
Lincoln
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RE: Paint In The Wings...why Not?
| Quoting Lincoln (reply 11): ...and for that strength Alcad (and related metals) are darn expensive. |
Yes, it's expensive.
| Quoting Lincoln (reply 11): even for "scraps" my thought is always "I could buy my next new car for less than that!" |
Don't know what size of scraps you're talking about but a 4'X10' sheet of .063" 2024T3 Alclad went for about $300USD last I knew(5years ago).
| Quoting Lincoln (reply 11): but aren't the tops of most wings painted...white, but still painted, |
Most I've seen are aluminized primer, not white but gray.
Dl757Md
757 Most beautiful airliner in the sky!
RE: Paint In The Wings...why Not?
The Alclad provides protection yes, but painting provides additional protection to that surface also. yes, AA's aircraft are painted with clear paint. you can see wear on some of them from the jetway pads rubbing on the sides of the aircraft.
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- AirWillie6475
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RE: Paint In The Wings...why Not?
America West Express CRJs have painted wings
RE: Paint In The Wings...why Not?
| Quoting UAcsOKC (reply 13): The Alclad provides protection yes, but painting provides additional protection to that surface also. yes, AA's aircraft are painted with clear paint. you can see wear on some of them from the jetway pads rubbing on the sides of the aircraft. |
As far as I can recall, AA does not have a clearcoat on their aircraft. They polish their aircraft every 6 months or so and the polish is what provides the corrosion protection in addition to making their aircraft look so good. An airline that does use a clearcoat is NW because it reduces fading and allows the paint to last longer.
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