Ceramic Coating at Alghero Fertilia (LIEA)

Why apply ceramic coating at this Sardinian airport?

Alghero Fertilia sits eighty-seven feet above the Mediterranean, and aircraft operating here face the twin challenges of salt-laden air and intense summer UV. A ceramic coating bonds to corrected paint and creates a hydrophobic shell that repels contaminants, reduces oxidation, and makes every subsequent wash faster and more effective. The treatment lasts two to three years, which means fewer deep cleans and less time off the ramp over the life of the coating.

We recommend ceramic work after a repaint or a complete detail, when the paint surface is already corrected. Applying the coating over compromised paint simply locks in the defects. The process includes full decontamination—removing embedded iron, tar, and environmental fallout—then paint correction to eliminate swirl marks and light oxidation. Only then do we lay down two ceramic layers, cure them under controlled conditions, and treat the brightwork and windows separately. You receive a maintenance plan and warranty document before the aircraft leaves the hangar.

What changes at Alghero Fertilia for a multi-day ceramic job?

The airport is managed by SO.GE.A.AL S.p.A., the operator responsible for apron access and airside coordination. Because no independent handling agents could be verified at the field, all logistics—stand assignment, GPU, airside escort—are arranged directly with the operator. The single runway, 02/20, stretches three thousand metres and handles seasonal leisure traffic concentrated in the summer route season. Outside that window, apron availability improves and the airport becomes quieter, which suits a multi-day hangar booking.

Elevation is eighty-seven feet, so density altitude is rarely a constraint, but summer temperatures inside an unventilated hangar can climb. We control the environment during cure time to ensure the ceramic bonds correctly. If your aircraft is scheduled for a charter leg or a positioning flight mid-week, flag that during the booking; ceramic work follows a fixed sequence—decontamination, correction, first coat, second coat, cure—and interrupting the timeline means starting sections over again.

Seasonal traffic peaks also affect hangar availability and ground-crew scheduling. A winter or shoulder-season slot often allows more flexible timing and faster turnaround on documentation. Summer bookings require earlier PPR and closer coordination with the operator to secure covered space and power.

How do you coordinate airside access and hangar space?

Airside access at Alghero Fertilia runs through the airport operator. We submit crew details, aircraft registration, and estimated arrival at least forty-eight hours before the slot, and SO.GE.A.AL issues the necessary permits and arranges the escort from the stand to the hangar. If your crew holds Italian airside passes, the process shortens; if not, we meet the aircraft on the apron and handle the transfer.

Hangar availability is the long pole. Ceramic coating demands three to six consecutive days under cover, with stable temperature and no dust. We book the space as soon as you confirm the dates, because summer leisure traffic can fill every covered stand. GPU is arranged through the operator; we keep the aircraft on external power throughout the process to run lights, open doors, and operate the air-conditioning if the hangar temperature climbs. If the booking coincides with peak-season weekends, expect the operator to request earlier arrival or a slight shift in the window to avoid congestion on the apron.

What does the decontamination and correction stage involve?

Before any ceramic touches the paint, we decontaminate every panel. That means a pH-neutral pre-wash, a clay-bar treatment to lift embedded iron and tar, and a solvent wipe to remove oils and residues. The process is methodical: we work section by section—fuselage, nacelles, winglets, tail—because rushing decontamination leaves contamination under the ceramic, which shortens its life and creates texture in the finish.

Paint correction follows. We inspect the surface under high-intensity light, mark areas with swirl marks, oxidation, or light scratches, and machine-polish those sections using a rotary with a cutting compound, then refine with a finishing polish. Leading edges, the belly, and the area aft of the engines typically show the most wear. Brightwork—window frames, door handles, exhaust surrounds—is polished separately using metal-specific compounds. We avoid no-touch avionics, static ports, and pitot probes entirely; those areas are masked before any polishing begins.

Correction can add a day to the timeline if the paint is heavily oxidised, but skipping it means the ceramic coats uneven or dull paint. We document the before-and-after with photographs under consistent lighting, and those images form part of the final report.

How is the ceramic applied and cured?

Once the paint is corrected and wiped down with isopropyl alcohol, we apply the first ceramic layer. The product goes on in small sections—half a square metre at a time—using a foam applicator wrapped in a microfibre cloth. We work panel by panel, allowing each section to flash for five to eight minutes before buffing off the excess. The first layer takes a full day for a super-midsize airframe, longer for an ACJ or ultra-long-range jet.

The second layer follows twenty-four hours later, after the first has cured enough to accept another bond. Application is identical: small sections, controlled flash time, careful buffing. Brightwork and windows receive their own ceramic formulation, applied separately and cured under the same conditions. The entire aircraft then rests in the hangar for another forty-eight to seventy-two hours while the coating fully cross-links. Temperature and humidity matter during this window; we monitor both and adjust ventilation or heating as needed.

After cure, we perform a final wipe-down and a water-bead test on several panels to confirm the hydrophobic effect. The aircraft is then released, and you receive a maintenance plan that outlines the recommended wash intervals and the products to avoid—alkaline soaps and abrasive brushes will degrade the coating prematurely.

When should ceramic coating fit into a fleet maintenance cycle?

Ceramic works best as a scheduled event every two to three years, ideally after a repaint or a complete detail when the paint is already in top condition. If your aircraft has just come out of heavy maintenance with fresh paint, ceramic coating extends that finish and delays the next correction cycle. If the paint is older but still sound, we correct it first, then apply the ceramic to lock in the improvement.

For aircraft operating a seasonal Sardinian programme—charter legs between May and September, then winter positioning elsewhere—a shoulder-season ceramic booking at Alghero makes sense. You avoid the summer apron congestion, secure hangar space more easily, and the aircraft enters the high-use season with full protection. The coating reduces wash frequency during the summer, which matters when the aircraft is turning quickly between legs and a full wash is not always practical.

Recurring work at the same base also simplifies logistics. If Alghero Fertilia is a regular stop, we can schedule the next ceramic application in advance, coordinate with the operator for the same hangar, and keep the maintenance records and photo documentation in one file. That continuity helps the flight department track the coating's condition and plan the next service window without guesswork.