As We Go To Press
PPG Aerospace’s new basecoat/clearcoat system
A basecoat/clearcoat aerospace coatings
system developed by PPG’s aerospace
business can save airlines millions of dollars annually because of its reduced
weight, added durability and shorter
process time compared with traditional
coatings, according to the company.
Airplanes are traditionally painted
with two coats of the same pigmented
topcoat. With PPG’s basecoat/clearcoat
system, the first coating applied has a
higher amount of pigment than in one
topcoat of a conventional two-coat system. The system’s second coat is clear,
providing gloss, smoothness and better
durability.
According to Alan Schoeder, PPG
Aerospace commercial coatings global
segment manager, the weight savings
with the PPG basecoat/clearcoat system
would be approximately 100 pounds for
a small commercial airplane and close to
200 pounds for a large airplane.
“With the PPG basecoat/clearcoat
system for painting aircraft, we expect a
15-35% weight reduction compared
with the traditional two-coat system at
the same cured paint thickness,”
Schoeder said. Darker colors would be
about 35%, while lighter colors would be
about 15%, he said.
“If each pound taken off a plane represents $1,000 a year in fuel savings, an
airline could save $100,000 for a small
aircraft and up to $200,000 for a large
airplane. Translate that across a fleet,
and the potential exists to save millions
of dollars with PPG’s basecoat/clearcoat
system in fuel costs alone,” he said.
The PPG basecoat/clearcoat system
also reduces process time, removing one
full day from the painting cycle,
Schoeder said. The color coat dry time is
about two hours, instead of five to seven
for traditional systems, because drying
slowly is not required for a glossy,
smooth finish when using a clearcoat.
Also, only about a half-hour dry time is
needed after logo colors and placards are
painted over the basecoat before the
clearcoat is applied, compared with
about two hours for a traditional paint
system.
Using a clearcoat improves gloss and
color retention as well as cleanability,
Schoeder said. “Therefore, airlines can
expect the life of a paint job to increase
using the new PPG system.”
Also, with increased paint durability
and shorter repainting process time, a
plane won’t need to be repainted as often
or to be grounded as long for maintenance. An airline that loses $50,000 to
$150,000 in revenue every day an airplane sits for repainting will therefore
reduce those maintenance-related loss-es, Schoeder said.
Customer trials of PPG’s new system
are under way, with qualification to OEM
specification expected this year.
Index to Companies
This index gives the starting page for a department or feature with
a significant reference to a manufacturer of paint, coatings, adhe-
sives and sealants. Subsidiaries are indexed under their own names.
AkzoNobel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10, 44
BASF Coatings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10, 22
Benjamin Moore. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10, 22, 26
DuPont .................................................. 10
Empils. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Flame Control Coatings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Hardide Coatings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Enviroline. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Henkel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
InternationalPaint ........................................ 10
Jotun Paints. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Metacolour A/S. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
PPG. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8, 10, 21
Red Spot Paint & Varnish. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Scandinavian Colour Institute ............................... 26
Sherwin-Williams. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Sika. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
SprayMax Industrial Coatings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Sto Corp.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Surface Specialties Italy .................................... 21
Tnemec . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44, 50
Valspar .................................................. 21
Zinsser. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
