Aerospace Coatings Market
help by reducing the dry film weight by up to 10 percent,”
Ossenkopf said.
Because PPG serves customers all around the world and
in all aerospace segments, Bencun said the performance required by its customers is just as diverse. Nevertheless, he
said, there are general trends in performance driven by a few
key factors.
“Weight savings is a benefit that all our customers are looking for. Our Desothane HD basecoat clearcoat allows companies with complex liveries to save weight on their aircraft. We
have seen coatings build reduction up to 20 percent in some
circumstances. One other example of weight savings we provide to the industry is our Aerocron electrocoat primer by which
structural parts are coated by electrodeposition instead of a traditional spray process. This technology brings uniform film on
the part, resulting in up to 75 percent coatings weight savings on
highly complex shaped parts,” he said.
Bencun added that both of these new technologies also
contribute to one other driver: productivity. For aircraft manufacturers as well as for aftermarket operations, this is a key
factor for financial performance. “Therefore, our products are
designed to reduce this workshop time and allow our customers either higher ramp-ups or higher rotations of their assets,”
he said.
Bencun added that customers in this market are also looking for higher durability of coatings. Even if the repaint cycle
doesn’t increase, the requirements in terms of color and gloss
retention are higher than in the past. “Our Desothane HD
basecoat clearcoat increases this performance and we can see
brighter and more colorful aircraft supporting airlines’ brands
and image,” he said.
Because customers are also looking for more environmentally friendly solutions, PPG considers regulations such as REACH
in all its development efforts.
Finally, Bencun added, there are trends in terms of operational performance. “Our customers require a responsive supply
chain with local presence to face current ramp-ups and also the
decrease in their cycle times. PPG’s global network of 17 aerospace application support centers allows us to be highly responsive and locally address customer needs,” he said.
New products
Leading aerospace coatings manufacturers are frequently introducing new technologies to the market. What follows is information on these new innovations from select manufacturers, in
their own words.
Mankiewicz
Mankiewicz often develops special products to meet its customers’ needs. For example, a highly flexible primer for engine
nacelles. Composites on the nacelles are subjected to extreme
movements and this causes cracks in conventional, rigid primers and exterior paints. By contrast, Mankiewicz FlexPrimer
stretches flexibly under stress and this keeps the surface paint
free of cracks.
PPG
PPG’s aerospace business has launched several technologies
in recent years and there are more to come. The company’s
Desothane HD basecoat clearcoat for external surfaces is highly recognized in the industry. With more than 600 aircrafts
painted to date, this product allows customers to paint faster,
lighter and brighter.
A second product is PPG’s solar reflective coatings that are
offered in either a basecoat clearcoat version or traditional direct top gloss version. This product, based on specific pigment
technology, reduces the temperature of the aircraft skin painted
in dark colors by up to 20˚ to 25˚F. The main benefit is reduced
energy required to cool aircraft.
PPG has also introduced several chrome free primers in
recent years. On the external side of the aircraft, the company has launched its Desoprime chrome-free wash primer
7530/7065 to replace its older chromated technologies.
Several customers have adopted this technology, which is
more user-friendly both from environmental and application standpoints. On the structural side, PPG’s Aerocron
electrodeposition coatings have been qualified according to
AMS3044 in addition to several other manufacturer specifications in the EMEA and North American regions. On structural parts, PPG also provides Desoprime 7521, a sprayable
epoxy primer, also approved according to several manufacturer specifications.
Finally, PPG considers itself “the color expert.” PPG has adopted its Andaro special effect pigments technology, traditionally delivered in a direct topcoat version in its new Desothane
HD basecoat clearcoat technology. Several colors are available
for this high depth of color technology.
Sherwin-Williams
For aircraft exteriors, the commercial paint cycle is a critical component to the airlines. Sherwin-Williams’ JCX commercial coatings is designed for the airline customer and it
is simply kitted so that it’s easy for the applicator to use. It’s
designed in a way that is productivity efficient for the commercial airline customer.
Sherwin-Williams has a wide spectrum of colors, textures
and looks for the interior of the aircraft. The company’s Jet
Flex product line has been used on Boeing aircraft for decades. One of the beautiful features is its stain resistance. Think
about how much an aircraft is touched, banged, pulled on, and
scraped throughout a day. Jet Flex is designed to last that kind
of environment.
Jet Flex Elite offers the customer even more effect-looks.
Having a mica in the material gives it a gloss or sheen on the
aircraft to achieve an elegant look, ideal in the business class or
the first class section of an aircraft.
New for this year is a product line called Jet Suede, designed
for the texture of the interior aircraft. The company reports that
it feels like suede and has a soft feel to it so it offers the customer
a different experience when they’re touching an armrest or different parts of the plane. CW
