Historical primers and paints used for aeronautical protection and colouring during WWII: A multi-techniques approach on archaeological parts

Camille Montané (1, 2) , Cecilia Velino (3) , Emma André (1) , Maëlenn Aufray (2) , Florence Gayet (4) , Luc Robbiola (5) , Chantal Brouca-Cabarrecq (1) , Philippe Sciau (1) , Magali Brunet (1)

1 CEMES-M3 - Matériaux Multi-fonctionnels et Multi-échelles
2 CIRIMAT - Centre interuniversitaire de recherche et d'ingenierie des matériaux
3 UNIBO - Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna = University of Bologna
4 CAI - Chimie Agro-Industrielle
5 TRACES - Travaux et recherches archéologiques sur les cultures, les espaces et les sociétés

Aeronautics for military or civil applications effectively pushed scientists, engineers and industrial leaders to invent and produce increasingly efficient materials. Aluminium alloys are among the most important strategic materials used in aircraft manufacturing. Consequently, so are the protective coatings (primers and paints). After decades of burial, World War II (WWII) wrecks provide a tremendous amount of archaeological information on this period of intense technological research. In this article, the original protective coatings of ten samples collected on WWII wrecks and one collection aircraft were studied. Information was retrieved thanks to a multi-techniques approach: SEM-EDS, Raman spectroscopy and XRD to identify the nature of the mineral compounds (fillers and pigments) and FTIR, Py-GC-MS and NMR to identify the organic binders of the paints and primers. This information will help conserve this valuable 20 th century Industrial Heritage.

Mots clés: primer; paint; aluminium alloys; historical aircraft; nitrocellulose paint

Domaines: Matériaux; Héritage culturel et muséologie

Camille Montané, Cecilia Velino, Emma André, Maëlenn Aufray, Florence Gayet, et al.. Historical primers and paints used for aeronautical protection and colouring during WWII: A multi-techniques approach on archaeological parts. Journal of Cultural Heritage, 2023, 62, pp.54-64. ⟨10.1016/j.culher.2023.05.005⟩. ⟨hal-04109447⟩