The general consensus amongst aircraft painters is that a bright, freshly
painted plane is a truly stunning thing to look at. Knowing that you've turned
a beast into a beauty with your own two hands is the greatest reward, according
to painters.
"At the end of the job, you're looking at it and saying, 'I did that!'
And thousands of people are going to be flying on this airplane and seeing
it," says Gary Ainsworth.
Paint stripper Jackie Hewitt agrees. "You start with something that looks
terrible and by the time you're done, it looks pretty good!"
Hewitt likes her job. One of very few women in aerospace paint shops, she
says it's tough physical labor, but she has no complaints.
According to Hewitt, your fitness will determine the size of your smile
in the shop. "I enjoy it," she says. "As long as you're healthy, you should
have no problem, but if you're not capable of hard labor, you shouldn't get
into it." She says that back problems will be an aircraft painter's demise.
Hewitt adds that if the proper safety precautions are not followed, a painter's
lungs and kidneys will suffer. However, she also says that masks and protective
layers of clothing make the job perfectly safe.
Ainsworth says the work isn't for everyone. "It takes a certain kind of
person to be an aircraft painter -- somebody that likes to work with their
hands all the time, that's for sure," he says.
For Ainsworth, who has a background in construction, aircraft painting
was just the right thing. He wanted stability and he wanted to work closely
with products in a shop. As an aircraft painter, he is in the perfect situation
-- there are no travel requirements and he now supervises the shop workers.
When he started, benefits and a hefty income helped to pique his interest.
"I'm not saying it's a bad job," he says. "I've done well with it. I've done
really well with it."
Malcolm Archer painted for 14 years and is now a teacher and supervisor
at an aviation sales company. "I would not push any young person into being
an aircraft painter because it's hazardous work," he says.
First, the plane must be stripped, sanded, masked and primed. Finally,
if all goes well and the sheet metal is clean and intact, the paint is applied.
Ainsworth explains that there is much more to the painted product than
first meets the traveler's eye. The decals, the stripes, the airline logos
and all of the fancy additions to the interior are put on at the paint shop.
"When you sit down in your aircraft," says Ainsworth, "all the side walls
and overhead bins and ceiling panels -- all that's painted."
Aircraft painting is, during certain parts of the process, a creative task.
And it also takes foresight to come up with a design that is appropriate for
the layout of the plane, inside and out. "There are a lot of different aspects,
like interiors," says Ainsworth.
To a trained eye, a well-painted plane is a carefully crafted work of art.
"You look at the size of an airplane and see all these nice layouts. There's
a lot of artwork going into it [and] looking at the blueprints. There's more
to it than just painting."