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AEROSPACE PLATING "We had heard from several sources that tech support would be stronger and more responsive with Uyemura, and that's been our experience," Whitley says. "We have an excellent working relationship with the lab in Connecticut, which is oriented toward our specific applications." Cessna Offers Heat Reflecting Paint Customer-Driven The newest tones are customer-driven. Oil-rubbed Bronze was based on an inquiry from Airbus for a specific appearance, Niefield says. It combines the company's normal plated product with a "cold staining" process to achieve the desired look. Also new is Spanish Bronze, which Niefield describes as a variation of Oil-rubbed Bronze, but with a more visible brushed pattern. Crescent Gold was developed after several European completion centers asked HighTech for a plated finish with a distinctive color and accurate color consistency; it is available in polished, satin, pearlite, frosted and hammertone textures. In the last few years, HighTech has been striving to stay ahead of the design game by working more closely with aircraft designers on materials and finishes in order to offer them whatever a customer decides it wants in terms of the latest trendy tones and colors. "It works well this way because we can start seeing trends and then use our own R&D; to make sure we have products that will best serve the market," Niefield says. "That may take a few months of research on our part, but it is a good scenario because we want to stay ahead of that trend." The latest trends in aircraft size, meanwhile, are showing that more customers are buying larger business jets. Honeywell Business and General Aviation say the company expects that about 70 percent of all expenditures on new business jets will be for larger-size aircraft. That sits just fine with the management team at HighTech, which has seen more business come from overseas in recent years. "The people we work with range from wealthy individuals, to corporations who want to fly their executives all over the world, to heads of state who have their own fleets," Niefield says. "It's a wide range of people we are dealing with who want only the best for their aircraft, and we're happy to deliver it to them." For more information on HighTech Finishing, please visit htf.net Cessna Aircraf Co. has rolled out the new Night Sky edition of its Turbo Stationair, which features a black and red paint scheme that includes a new surface coating capable of refecting most infrared solar heat. The Night Sky edition also includes a specially-painted McCauley propeller to complement the unique paint scheme. The solar heat refective coating (SHR) is provided by AkzoNobel, and uses an integrated technology that allows for darker paint to be used on nontraditional aircraf surfaces, such as the wings. "The darker paint scheme on the Night Sky edition of the Stationair makes for an impressive looking aircraf when viewed on the ramp, as well as in the sky," says Jef Umscheid, Cessna business leader of the Turbo Stationair. AkzoNobel says that SHR coatings have an integrated technology that refects infrared radiation from the sun and keeps the coated item cooler, independent of the color of the coating. This can help to minimize air conditioning unit workload and operational costs, while providing a more comfortable working environment for personnel and protection of heat-sensitive electronic equipment, the company says. SHR coatings are possible because AkzoNobel uses special pigmentation and formulation techniques in which the pigments have been altered—physically and chemically—to refect infrared radiation while still absorbing the same amount of visible light, thus appearing the same color as Anodizing for Bonding Applications in Aerospace Anodizing for pre-prep bonding bridges the gap between the metallic and composite worlds, as it provides a superior surface in many applications on aluminum components for bonding to these composites. pfonline.com/articles/anodizing-for-bondingapplications-in-aerospace lesser refecting pigments, yet staying much cooler. Umscheid says that Cessna is always taking input from customers to provide the company with innovative, marketleading products. "This is an attention-grabbing product that refects an owner's personality and preference," he says. PRODUCTS FINISHING — pfonline.com 19