Big Painting project, lots of masking, multiple colors

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ThirstyBarbarian

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Check out this time lapse video of painting a 737 for Southwest. That's a big paint project! I thought it was interesting they applied what looks like a huge logo decal before painting, and then pealed it off after --- it was actually a precut mask.

I went to to the enormous Boeing plant in Everett, WA. It was a great tour, but we didn't get to see the painting facility. So I found this video to be pretty interesting.

https://www.slate.com/articles/vide..._a_southwest_boeing_737.html?wpisrc=seg_video
 
I used to work at Dynairtech in Phoenix and we painted new MD80's.
They came in perfectly shiny and it made me weep to alodine them and turn nasty green.
Since the planes had been flown around the first step was to wash them with MEK!

M
 
I used to work at Dynairtech in Phoenix and we painted new MD80's.
They came in perfectly shiny and it made me weep to alodine them and turn nasty green.
Since the planes had been flown around the first step was to wash them with MEK!

M

In the video, they come in a nasty green. Is that the Alodine? Then they get washed with something (MEK?) so they are shiny again. Then they get painted. I think if I had the money to buy one, I'd want mine shiny silver, no paint. Can you just get it in a clear polish?
 
In the video, they come in a nasty green. Is that the Alodine? Then they get washed with something (MEK?) so they are shiny again. Then they get painted. I think if I had the money to buy one, I'd want mine shiny silver, no paint. Can you just get it in a clear polish?

I don't work at a production paint shop so take this for what it's worth. When the airframe arrives at the paint shop it is given a chemical wash (MEK) to remove any contaminant that would keep the paint from adhering. Then any bare metal must be primed, often using Aldine which is, esentially, a chemical anodizing process. Don't take this as gospel, I work line and intermediate maintenance.
 
Hah, nice! At first I expected to see your G Force on a stand with lots of tape, but this is far more than that.
 
The new planes we painted came in bare aluminum, silver, they did not have the bright green these planes have.
The alodine turns them a yucky yellow green.
 
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