Next Generation of Aircraft coatings Systems

By Gordon Bierwagen

The three primary reasons for painting military aircraft are survivability (visual appearance, infrared signature), corrosion protection, and appearance
(including weatherability as well as abrasion and chemical resistance), while civilian and commercial aircraft use coatings for corrosion protection, airline identification, and appearance. The coating film on aircraft protects the metal and composite compo­nents of aircraft from their environment, since many components are designed and fabricated for struc­tural reasons from materials that are not very resistant to atmospheric exposure.

As aircraft coatings systems evolved, by the 1960s and 1970s, the predominant requirements were chemical and fluid resistance, corrosion resistance, exterior durability, and ambient cure. There are also coatings used over the plastics and metal substrates on the interior of aircraft, but this paper addresses only the high performance exterior coatings used on aircraft.