In industries such as the aviation industry and the military industry, it is commonplace and even essential for aircraft paint stripping to take place regularly. Learn more about what this stripping is and the process that is involved below.
Aircraft Paint Stripping: What It Is
Aircraft paint stripping is where paint, coatings, rust, and other materials on the surface of a plane are removed through a type of cleaning process. For about 60 years, a chemical process was used to clean the airplanes of these materials, but for around the last 60 years, abrasive media blasting has been used to complete this cleaning process.
Process
Abrasive media blasting is where a pressurized nozzle sprays various abrasive material particles onto an airplane’s surface to remove the coatings, paint, rust, and other materials present. This process can also be used to smooth out rough surfaces on the body of the airplane itself or to clean and polish that surface.
Particularly when it comes to stripping paint off planes, the type of blast media used is particularly important. Most aircraft today are made of aluminum or aluminum alloys. Aluminum and its alloys are strong, lightweight metals; one medium not to be used on aluminum is steel, as this type of media can embed itself into the body of the aircraft and lead to possible corrosion.
Plastic blast media is a better choice to remove paint from an aircraft because it does not harm the surface, plus leaves the surface polished. Alternatively, using crushed glass or aluminum oxide will make it easier to have the plane repainted.