Sometime during the service life of an aircraft, it is likely going to need a fresh paint job. The removal of the existing paint is usually part of the process involved with getting a new paint job for the aircraft. There are numerous de-painting product options available today for aircraft paint stripping – these include everything from chemical stripping to abrasive removal applications.
Methylene Chloride
The most commonly used method of chemically stripping aluminum skinned aircraft not too many years ago was methylene chloride. This product was and remains an effective method of removing old primer and paint. Although the results were present with this method, there were health risks discovered – a suspected carcinogen – to those using the products.
Chemical Strippers
Lower toxicity chemical strippers are being used more often now in the industry. Although these products are safer for aircraft paint stripping than methylene chloride strippers, they should be handled, applied, and discarded with great care to avoid injury to personnel and damage to aircraft.
Laser Paint Removal
Lasers are now being used to remove paint in some applications. In a system that is laser-based for paint removal, a pulsed laser beam is applied to the surface at a pre-determined energy level. The laser effectively breaks apart the coatings of paint and primer and creates a minimal stream of waste.
Abrasive Strippers and Plastic Blast Media
Various strippers on the market today provide the benefit of bypassing the chemical portion of the de-painting process. Some of the methods can be applied safely to composite structures. There are various types of media available to strip away paint from surfaces, including plastic media. Blasting media differs in aggressiveness and hardness. Also, various sizes of media are available that help determine the aggressive nature of the application. Many are used effectively for stripping paint from aircraft.
Choosing an Aircraft Paint Stripping Method
Each stripping product must be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. What may work for one situation may not work so well for another. The factors that may determine the stripping method to use include facility requirements, flow times, production rates, labor rates, ease-of-use, waste disposal, exposure danger, and the costs for materials and equipment.
