Special paints are needed to protect aircraft from temperature extremes and corrosive chemicals such as exhaust fumes. But now aircraft need not get repainted every five years. Industrial and chemical giant 3M has developed "aircraft paint replacement film", a specially developed fluoropolymer, self-adhesive and coloured. It is applied to the aircraft in strips in a process rather like wallpapering. It is currently being tested by Boeing, Lockheed-Martin and Airbus Industrie ( The Economist , Vol 351, No 8117).
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