| Halfway through the article is this extraordinarily helpful information (given that I know nothing at all about aircraft paint): > When Airbus 15 years ago launched the A350, it chose to follow Boeing's new 787 in using carbon-fibre instead of metal. > Experts say the lighter jets consume less fuel but are harder to deck out in a way that makes paint stick. > The new jets also need a layer of metallic mesh to dissipate lightning strikes because carbon-fibre is not conductive. > Finally, unlike metal, carbon does not expand and shrink as temperatures change. Yet paint does, resulting in a tug of war between plane and paint that can cause peeling over time. > Problems reported by Qatar Airways and some - though far from all - other A350 operators suggest this is happening earlier than expected, two people familiar with the design said. > The problem may have been compounded by the paint's especially weak adhesion to titanium rivets, they added. I wonder how dissimilar the paint and/or painting process is to the 787. Perhaps it will one day suffer the same issues. |
> Airbus is also not alone in facing problems. Boeing has had paint issues and a phenomenon known as rivet rash, or flecks of missing paint, on its competing 787s.