Ask the Expert Question-and-Answer Archive

by Ron Joseph

Powder Coating of Aircraft Parts

Q. I have a customer who would like to powder coat a lot of his aircraft parts but the ones I'm concerned with are the spring steel landing gear and structural aluminum parts. Can you give me any insight to powder coating these parts. Thank You

A. Before you powder coat any metals that are heat sensitive, you first need to check on their structural properties to insure that they do not loose tensile strength. etc. while the coating is being cured. Expect the powder coating to be cured at approximately 400oF for 15-20 minutes.

You can check with the suppliers of the alloys, refer to a metallurgical handbook, or perhaps perform your own laboratory tests on similar alloys that have been powder coated. You must know the specific name of the alloy and not simply refer to landing gear, springs, etc.

If you wish to follow the last option you can get back to me and I'll get a quote to perform the testing by Exponent Failure Analysis.

Good luck,

Ron Joseph