Ask the Expert Question-and-Answer Archive

by Ron Joseph

May, 2004

Stripping an Aircraft

Q. Hour many man hours would it take to chemically strip a 737-330 aircraft? The a/c appears to have 3 coats of paint, and a coat of brown primer that is on softened by standard a/c stripper used in the state of CA.

A. Thank you for your email. Unfortunately I cannot help you with this problem because the time to strip an aircraft depends entirely on the film thickness of the coatings on the type of chemical you are intending to apply. Some, such as methylene chloride are faster acting than some of the more environmentally friendly chemical paint strippers. Also the stripping time will depend on the temperature of the substrate and temperature of the chemical. I know that in the Air Force paint stripping can take well over a eight hours, but you would be best advised to call people in the Air Force for their direct input.

Best wishes,

Ron Joseph