Ceramic Coating at Lyon-Saint-Exupéry (LFLL)

Why ceramic coating instead of wax or sealant?

Wax lasts weeks; polymer sealants give you a few months. A properly cured ceramic layer bonds at the molecular level and survives two to three years of line flying, including repeated Type I and Type IV applications, summer insect strikes, and the industrial fall-out that settles on an apron overnight. The hydrophobic effect means water sheets off the fuselage rather than beading and evaporating into mineral spots, so the belly and nacelles stay cleaner between washes.

Because contaminants sit on the surface instead of etching into clear-coat, every rinseless or dry wash takes fifteen to twenty minutes less labour. Over twenty-four months that difference pays for the initial ceramic application, and you avoid the compounding required to remove embedded rail-dust or exhaust soot. We recommend ceramic every two to three years, ideally straight after a repaint or a complete detail when the paint is already corrected.

What happens during the three to six days in the hangar?

Day one is decontamination: clay-bar treatment to lift bonded iron, tar, and insect protein, then a solvent wipe to remove any residual polish oils. Day two is correction—we machine-polish to remove oxidation, micro-scratches, and swirl marks so the ceramic bonds to perfect clear-coat. On day three we apply the first ceramic layer to all painted surfaces and allow four hours of flash time. Day four brings the second coat, which fills any micro-pores left by the first.

Days five and six depend on ambient temperature and humidity inside the hangar; the ceramic needs controlled curing before the aircraft returns to service. While the fuselage cures we apply a separate ceramic formulation to the windscreen, side windows, and polished leading edges—those surfaces see different thermal cycles and need a harder, more heat-resistant chemistry. You collect the aircraft with a maintenance log that specifies wash intervals, approved cleaners, and warranty terms.

What changes at Lyon-Saint-Exupéry?

The airport sits at 821 feet elevation, twenty kilometres east of Lyon city centre, and operates around the clock; a COHOR schedule-facilitation window runs from six in the morning until one minute before eleven at night local time for all IFR traffic, so if you plan to arrive or depart inside that window your handler will file for a slot. Two parallel runways—four thousand metres and two thousand six hundred and seventy—mean traffic flows smoothly even when the wind swings, and the longer runway accommodates any MTOW in the ultra-long-range category.

Lyon has a second airport dedicated entirely to business aviation—Lyon-Bron—where the same operator markets hangars and long-term storage. At Saint-Exupéry the handling agents present at the airport will arrange your stand, GPU, and airside escort for the duration of the ceramic work. Because the service takes three to six days, most operators schedule it during a planned down period or immediately after heavy maintenance elsewhere in Europe, then position the aircraft here for the ceramic application before returning to revenue flying.

How does ceramic hold up against de-icing fluid?

Type I fluid is hot glycol; Type IV is a thickened polymer designed to cling to the wing until rotation. Both are engineered to break down and shear off, which means they attack anything on the surface—wax, sealant, or neglected clear-coat. A ceramic layer is cross-linked silica; it does not emulsify under glycol heat and it does not delaminate when the thickener shears at sixty knots.

We see the difference most clearly on aircraft that winter in Geneva, Innsbruck, or any Scandinavian field where ground crews apply Type IV three or four times a week. An unprotected fuselage loses gloss by February and needs a full correction in spring. A ceramic-coated jet comes out of winter with the same water-beading behaviour it had in October, and the post-season wash takes thirty minutes instead of three hours. The warranty document specifies how many de-icing cycles the coating will tolerate before you should plan the next application.

Can you ceramic-coat an older repaint or only fresh paint?

We can coat any paint system as long as the clear-coat is thick enough to accept correction. If the aircraft was repainted five years ago and has been washed regularly with pH-neutral chemicals, the paint is probably in good condition—we clay-bar, polish out the micro-marring, and apply ceramic. If the jet has spent those five years on an African charter program with irregular washing, the clear-coat may be oxidised past the point where polishing will restore gloss; in that case we recommend a repaint first, then ceramic within the first six months while the paint is still perfect.

The decontamination and correction stages take longer on older paint—sometimes two full days instead of one—but the ceramic itself does not care whether the paint was sprayed last month or five years ago. What matters is the surface energy: the clear-coat must be clean, smooth, and free of oils so the ceramic can form its covalent bond. We measure gloss with a meter before and after correction, and we will not apply ceramic unless the reading confirms the paint is ready.

What maintenance does ceramic need between applications?

Every three to four weeks, depending on utilisation, the aircraft needs a rinseless or dry wash using a pH-neutral cleaner that will not strip the hydrophobic layer. No brushes, no high-pressure lances aimed at the cheat line or static ports, no alkaline degreasers on the belly. The ceramic sheds most contaminants on its own, so you are removing only the residue that did not blow off in flight.

Twice a year we recommend a maintenance spray—a diluted ceramic booster that refreshes the hydrophobic effect and fills any microscopic wear from leading-edge impacts. That service takes two hours on the ramp and does not require a hangar. If the aircraft picks up a fuel stain or hydraulic drip, clean it immediately with isopropyl alcohol and a microfibre cloth; the ceramic will protect the paint underneath, but leaving the stain to bake in the sun will dull the coating in that spot. The maintenance plan we hand over specifies all of this, including the product codes for approved cleaners.