Finding the right aircraft paint shop

In my last article we discussed “Finding and choosing the right aircraft paint services” but we didn’t discuss the “shop” part of it. You would be surprised that many painters do not have a shop and are working in a hangar, barn, basement or worse, in the open air. None of those environments are professional and can be a disaster for the plane owner if they choose the wrong company to work with. Having a shop to remove and add paint is crucial to the end stage of the work, and the environment. You want a perfect paint job and knowing that the company is certified, is crucial. So what are the things we need to look for in finding the right aircraft paint shop?

The first place I would look, after you find a service, is to go to their website. Look for pictures that show the inside of the workshop, or even better, a spray paint booth. Check this out: http://www.vertinc.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/spray-room.jpg . This is one of our planes inside one of our own spray paint booths. A booth is essential for safety and the environment. Safety, to keep the paint away from other buildings and/or people (and our employees), and the environment because most of these booths are designed with ventilation to keep the hazards away and to recycle.

The second thing I would look for or ask about is the shop’s ventilation. Controlling the spray, fumes, exposure, air quality, run-off, circulation and the effects of volatile organic compounds such as acetone, xylene and toluene is critical to health and to the ultimate finish of the paint job. A top notch ventilation system will make you feel better knowing that no one was harmed painting your plane and that the ventilation system was strong enough to allow the high end air flow for that perfect paint job experience we want.

The last thing I would look for is “buildings” - plural. You cannot paint an airplane and go through all of the processes without several buildings for sanding, priming, painting and drying. Especially if they are painting more than one plane. If a paint shop only has one building, then the process to completion will take a very long time. Many months compared to weeks. Our professional and seasoned airplane paint shops have at least 3 different locations where we do sanding, painting, finishing, drying and finally storage. In this case, the bigger the company, the better.

There are several good aircraft paint shops out there and our last article shows you where you can find them. The above red flags should give you enough information to choose the right shop. Since painting an aircraft is an expensive ordeal, we want you to make sure you choose the right aircraft paint company. By having all of your ducks in a row before you let them touch your baby will give you complete confidence in the painters. Their job is to sell you on their service while your job is to choose the right one.