Brightwork Polish at Annecy Mont Blanc (LFLP)

What changes at Annecy Mont Blanc for a brightwork crew?

Annecy sits at 1521 feet elevation with a single paved runway—04/22, 1598 metres—and a parallel grass strip used seasonally. The airport operates seven days a week from 08:00 to 19:00 local during the winter period, which means any brightwork polish must fit entirely within daylight hours; there are no night operations. VINCI Airports runs the terminal and apron, and the field has been oriented almost entirely to business aviation since 2013, so ramp discipline and third-party crew access are straightforward.

The short operating window matters most when we schedule multi-day work. A two-day polish begins at first light on day one and finishes by close on day two; if weather delays the start or the aircraft arrives late, we lose hours we cannot recover after 19:00. Cold-soaking overnight between sessions is not a problem—the aircraft remains on stand—but the handler expects a clear finish time each afternoon so the apron can be secured before the tower closes.

Annecy lies 3.5 kilometres north-west of the city centre, close enough that road access is quick, but the alpine location means winter temperatures and humidity swing widely between morning and mid-afternoon. We monitor surface temperature on bare metal throughout the day; if leading edges are too cold at 08:00, we delay the first polish pass until the sun has warmed the airframe, then compress the schedule to finish before dusk.

Why hand-polish brightwork rather than leave it or mask it?

Bare-metal surfaces oxidise faster in alpine environments. Leading edges pick up moisture during climb and descent, exhaust rings see hot combustion gases, and inlet lips are sand-blasted by runway grit and ice crystals. Left untreated, the metal hazes over, then pits. Paint cannot fix it—brightwork is deliberately unpainted—so the only remedy is mechanical polishing followed by a sealant layer.

We use graduated abrasive compounds and soft wheels to remove oxidation without scratching the substrate, working each panel in overlapping passes until the reflection is uniform. Spinners and inlet rings are removed when access allows; leading edges and exhaust cones are polished in place. After the final pass we apply a hydrophobic sealant that fills the microscopic surface texture and slows the next oxidation cycle. The result is a mirror finish that lasts three to four months under normal operations, longer if the aircraft is hangared between flights.

Masking brightwork during a respray is common, but it does not restore metal that has already tarnished. A polish brings the shine back and resets the maintenance clock, which matters for residual value and for the impression the aircraft makes on the ramp at Courchevel or Geneva.

How does brightwork polish fit into a recurring schedule at LFLP?

Most jets we see at Annecy fall into two groups: aircraft based here for the ski season, flying daily shuttles to Courchevel, Samedan and Innsbruck, and transiting charters that stop for crew rest or passenger connections. For a based aircraft, we recommend brightwork polish every eight to ten weeks—roughly twice during a four-month winter season—either as a standalone service during a scheduled down day or combined with an exterior wash and single-stage correction.

Transiting aircraft often arrive with leading edges that have not been touched since the last annual detail. If the oxidation is light, a single polish and seal will hold for the rest of the charter tour. If the metal is heavily pitted, we may need two days and a more aggressive compound sequence. Either way, the work happens while the aircraft is on the ground for other reasons—crew change, catering restock, a positioning leg—so the captain is not buying dedicated downtime solely for cosmetics.

For fleet operators, we can align brightwork intervals with other calendar maintenance so the aircraft comes off the ramp with fresh paint, polished metal and a complete photo report. That report goes into the tech log and gives the next crew a dated record of condition, which helps when the same jet returns to LFLP three months later and we compare leading-edge wear against the last visit.

What does the handler expect when a third-party detailing crew is on the apron?

Handling agents present at the airport expect advance notice—usually 48 hours—when an outside crew will be working on an aircraft. We provide a list of personnel, vehicle registrations and the scope of work; the handler issues airside passes or arranges escort, depending on local security protocol. Once on the apron, we coordinate every movement with the ramp supervisor: where we park the van, when we need GPU if the APU is off, and how long each stand will be occupied.

Brightwork polish generates fine dust from the abrasive compounds, so we lay drop-sheets under the wings and nose to catch overspray and prevent FOD. The handler will ask us to secure all materials if wind picks up or if another aircraft is taxiing nearby. We also confirm that no other maintenance—gear swings, engine runs—is planned on adjacent stands; vibration during a polish pass can leave swirl marks that have to be corrected.

At the end of each day, we remove all equipment, police the area for debris, and leave the stand clean. The handler signs off the work in their daily log, and we file a brief report with the captain or flight-department manager so there is a record that the service was completed without incident. That documentation matters for insurance and for the next crew that preps the aircraft.

How long does brightwork polish take, and can it happen during a turnaround?

A typical super-midsize jet with moderate brightwork—wing and stabiliser leading edges, two inlet rings, exhaust cones and window surrounds—takes one full day if the metal is in reasonable condition. If oxidation is heavy or the aircraft is an ultra-long-range type with larger nacelles and more trim, the job stretches to two days. A third day is rare but necessary when we find deep pitting that requires wet-sanding before we move to polish compounds.

Turnaround work is possible only if the stop is long enough and the scope is narrow. We have polished inlet rings and spinners during a four-hour turnaround at Annecy when the rest of the brightwork was already fresh, but a complete leading-edge treatment needs the aircraft on stand from morning to evening. Most operators schedule the service during a positioning day, a crew-rest overnight, or a planned maintenance window when the jet is not flying revenue legs.

What documentation and photos do you provide after brightwork polish at Annecy?

We deliver a written report within 24 hours of completion, including the date, aircraft registration, stand location, ambient temperature range, products used, and the condition of each polished surface before and after. The report notes any areas where oxidation was too deep to remove fully without repainting, and it records the sealant batch and application method so the next detailer knows what is on the metal.

High-resolution photographs accompany the report: wide shots showing the whole aircraft on stand, close-ups of each leading edge and inlet ring before the first pass, and after-polish images that document the mirror finish. We also photograph any pre-existing damage—stone chips, corrosion bloom, paint edge-lift around brightwork—so there is no ambiguity about what we treated and what was already there. The photo set is tagged with GPS coordinates and timestamp, then sent as a PDF or uploaded to the flight department's maintenance portal.

For recurring customers, we keep a history file so we can compare leading-edge condition across visits and recommend whether the next interval should be shorter or longer. That file stays with us, but the captain receives a summary after each service so the tech log has a permanent record that brightwork polish was performed at LFLP on a given date.