Should I restore my airplane?

There are so many questions to get answered. Let’s be clear, our portion of the conversation comes in after you’ve made your decision to mechanically restore or purchase a used aircraft that is in good mechanical order. Obviously when getting through this first step, there are so many things to consider like what type of airplane do you have or are considering buying? Is it flying or is it damaged?

Next, in terms of the interior and exterior, does it need to be replaced or restored? In most cases, things can be restored which is where Color Glo specialists come in. We can save you thousands simply by using what is already there.

The restoration process

The restoration process on an aircraft can be rather elaborate. When dealing with companies that restore used airplanes for people that want them overhauled, it typically includes parts and replacements, upgrades and more. What we’re talking about here is reducing your cost to restore to new. What can Color Glo restore?

• Cracked dashboards

• Vinyl

• Plastic

• Leather tears, marks and worn spots

• Light encasements

• Door panels

• Steering wheels

• Carpet

• Counsels

• Cushions and seats

Our Speciality. Color Glo, together with Aero Interior Maintenance, offers services that are targeted at leather, vinyl, and plastic surfaces used for interior components of aircraft. These components would include aircraft seating, side panels and reveals, headliners, seat bases, window reveals, table tops, and drink rails. The industry uses many different types of plastics, vinyls, and leathers to accomplish both practical and maintainable surfaces but also to bring elegance to these interiors.

• Cleaning and conditioning – Would include basic cleaning of built up soiling, newsprint ink or ink stains, removing simple scuffs, applying a final coat of leather conditioner.

• Repairing worn areas – Many high wear areas such as seat armrests and upper back cushions have the actual coating wore thin or all the way through the actual finish coating thus exposing the actual leather to premature wear and leaving it unprotected from the elements. Cleaning, repairing surfaces, and re-dying with multiple coats of finish will bring these areas back to a like new condition.

• Repairing & Re-dying of damaged areas – Many times faded colors, damaged surfaces from scuffs, scratches, and cracking can be repaired to a like new condition. This would include leather, vinyl, and hard plastics. These areas are then re-dyed back to an original color.

As you know, airplane and helicopter purchases can be very expensive so saving on the high-traffic areas is a feather in your cap. It leaves a bit more for the fun stuff and upgrades! A common question that people ask is “How long will it last?” It is simple to make something look good going out the door but the real value to the end user is often found months later after these surfaces have been used and cleaned by the customer. We cannot control how you clean or maintain these surfaces after they leave our hands but we feel confident that it will wear well and often times as well as the original finish. Our guarantee is that we will make you satisfied or your money back, no questions asked.

We have not experienced cracking, peeling, tackiness, the product coming off onto clothing, and the many other problems that many products cause. We take great pride in the fact our products stand the test of time again and again. We have a long list of customers who continually ask us to perform our maintenance on every annual inspection of their aircraft. They have found that routine maintenance can keep the appearance and condition of these interiors in a like new condition even though they may have thousands of hours of actual use.

Quality in Craftsmanship

Many companies have tested their products to prove that they will not alter existing burn certificates but what they haven’t done is create an FAA repair station that controls who uses these products, how they use them, and how they will qualify their work. This is called a quality control system. Using an FAA certificated system will assure that trained people are using these products, these products are traced from point of origin to point of use, and a quality control system is used to issue FAA approved paperwork to the aircraft owner returning the aircraft to service after the maintenance we provide is completed. Color Glo in correlation with AIM, use either FAA form #8130-3 or logbook entry forms at the customer requests. Rest assured that existing burn certifications will not be voided when AIM maintains your interiors.

Need help with aircraft restoration?

From private aircraft to commercial airliners, government or military, Color Glo is a market leader in the repair, reconditioning, renewal and color restoration of leather, plastic and vinyl in the aviation market.