Aircraft Surface Protection and Paint Coatings

Paint Definition:
Paint commonly refers to the total paint system used on the aircraft. The paint system is a layered
structure on the surface of the aircraft that is composed of:
 Protective pretreatment (chemical/electrolytic coating or wash primer)
 Paint coatings (primer and topcoat epoxies)
 Special coatings (antistatic lacquer, enamels, and epoxies)
Chemically speaking, the term “paint” is a mechanical mixture of a pigment (e.g. zinc chromate) and
vehicle (solidifying or volatile oils) used to cement the pigment and strengthen the matrix upon drying.
Wash primers to top coatings have paint as the primary constituent and therefore are labeled as paint.

Roles of the Paint System:

The main purpose of paint is to maintain the safe operation and serviceability of the aircraft structure
against corrosion. It acts as both as a barrier to corrosive agents and a reservoir of corrosion inhibitors.
The roles of the paint system are:
1. Protective: preventive corrosion, protecting surfaces against deterioration and abrasion, facing
difficult weather conditions, and reduce heat absorption
2. Appearance: smooth continuous finish, no cracks, and no peeling
3. Decorative: used as aircraft livery

Types of Paint Used on Airbus Aircrafts:

Pretreatment
Base metals such as aluminum alloys, steel alloys, corrosion resistant steel, and titanium are subjected
to pretreatment to increase corrosion resistance and allow for good adhesion for subsequent coatings.
One pretreatment method is galvanizing; a coating is added of a different metal of lower
electrochemical potential than the base metal. The coating would act as a sacrificial anode protecting
the base metal. Another method involves conversion coating where the surface is converted to a
protective passive coating by electrochemical processes. It is important to note that pretreatment
paints can replace many of the conversion coating processes and are easier to apply:
 o Etch/Wash Primers

This pretreatment coating compound consist of resin, zinc tetroxychromate (ZnCrO4), oxidizing
solvent, and alcoholic phosphoric acid. It has a similar reaction mechanism to chromate conversion
coatings forming a resin/metal complex on the surface, and can be an alternative to this method.
Example of approved wash primer: Metaflex FCR Primer – has improved resistance to filiform
corrosion ( appears between primer and aluminum clad layers)

o Epoxy Primers