Ceramic Coating at Florence Peretola (LIRQ)

What happens during the ceramic-coating process at Florence?

The work begins with a thorough decontamination: clay-bar treatment to lift embedded rail dust, brake dust and industrial fallout, followed by a chemical decon if the airframe has been exposed to de-icing fluid residue or heavy pollution. Once the surface is clean, we correct the paint—removing light oxidation, swirl marks and any marring left by automatic or untrained washes—so the ceramic bonds to a smooth, defect-free substrate.

Two layers of ceramic coating are then applied to all painted surfaces, with a flash time between coats. Brightwork—leading edges, nacelle lips, winglets—receives the same treatment, as do the windows. The aircraft remains in the hangar while the coating cures, typically twenty-four to forty-eight hours depending on ambient temperature and humidity. We hand over a maintenance plan and warranty document before the next departure, and the flight crew will notice the difference on the first post-coating wash: water sheets off, bugs wipe away, and the belly stays cleaner between legs.

What changes at Florence Peretola?

Florence Peretola sits at 142 feet elevation, five kilometres north-west of the city centre, with a single 1,560-metre runway and displaced thresholds at both ends. The airport is slot-coordinated, so every movement—arrival, hangar tow, departure—requires advance PPR and close timing with your handler. Four handling agents are present: Signature Aviation, Sky Services, AviaVIP (Argos VIP Private Handling) and Toscana Aeroporti Handling, the same operator that manages Pisa.

The short runway and displaced thresholds mean many ultra-long-range jets cannot use Florence at higher weights, but super-midsize and large-cabin aircraft fit the performance envelope comfortably. For ceramic work, the constraint is hangar availability rather than ramp space: three to six days under cover is non-negotiable, and that window must be booked weeks ahead during the summer season when transient and based aircraft compete for the same slots. If your schedule is fluid, we coordinate directly with the handler to hold or adjust the hangar reservation; if the aircraft is already cold-soaked from an overnight, we can start decon and correction the same morning and keep the turnaround tight.

Why apply ceramic coating between legs rather than at a completion centre?

Completion centres schedule ceramic work in month-long queues, and the aircraft often waits on the ground longer than the process itself requires. Bringing the service to Florence means the coating happens when and where the aircraft is already positioned—between charter blocks, during owner downtime, or at the end of a European tour—without a ferry to another country or a gap in the revenue calendar.

The technical outcome is identical: we use the same multi-year ceramic systems, the same correction tools, and the same curing protocols that a completion shop would follow. The difference is logistics. At LIRQ we work around your handler's ground-power and tow schedule, we bring our own lighting and extraction if the hangar's ventilation is marginal, and we keep the flight crew and chief pilot informed at every stage—decon complete, correction complete, first ceramic layer down, curing, sign-off. If a departure window moves up, we know within the hour and adjust the plan; if it slips, we add a third layer or address the belly and gear bays while the coating cures.

How does ceramic coating fit into a recurring maintenance schedule at Florence?

For flight departments that use Florence as a seasonal or year-round base, ceramic coating becomes the anchor of a two- or three-year appearance cycle. The initial application takes three to six days; after that, every wash—dry, rinseless, or waterless—removes dirt faster and leaves fewer streaks because contaminants no longer bond to bare paint. Quarterly or biannual details become simpler: no clay bar, no heavy polishing, just a maintenance wash and a spray sealant top-up if desired.

We recommend re-coating every two to three years, ideally timed after a repaint or a complete detail that has already corrected the paint. If the aircraft stays in a European rotation—frequent exposure to de-icing fluid, industrial pollution around busy airports, or coastal salt—the coating pays for itself in reduced labour hours and fewer AOG delays caused by cosmetic squawks. Charter operators running tight turnarounds at LIRQ benefit most: the ceramic layer means a thirty-minute rinseless wash between legs instead of an hour-long scrub, and the airframe still presents well for the next client walk-around.

What do handlers expect when a third-party detailing crew works at Florence?

Handlers at Florence expect the same professionalism they see from line-service or maintenance vendors: current airside passes or escort arrangements confirmed in writing, a clear scope of work shared with their duty manager, and no surprise requests for GPU extensions or tow-bar changes once the aircraft is on the stand. We send the handler a timeline—day one decon and correction, day two first ceramic layer, day three second layer and brightwork, day four curing, day five final inspection—so their ramp coordinator knows when the aircraft will be moved and when it must stay put.

Water use is managed according to airport rules: if LIRQ restricts runoff during certain months, we switch to rinseless chemistry for the decon stage and collect all waste in our own tanks. Waste disposal, empty product containers, and used microfibre towels leave the airside with us, not with the handler's ground crew. If the coating process finishes early and the aircraft can depart ahead of schedule, we notify the handler and the flight crew simultaneously; if curing runs into a second night because of low hangar temperature, we explain why and provide a revised release time. The goal is to make the handler's job easier, not harder, so they are comfortable approving our return for the next aircraft.

When should an operator schedule ceramic coating at LIRQ?

The best window is immediately after a repaint, when the paint is fully cured but not yet exposed to months of UV, de-icing fluid, or abrasive washes. If a repaint is not on the calendar, schedule the ceramic after a complete detail that has already corrected the paint; applying ceramic over oxidised or swirl-marked surfaces locks in those defects for the life of the coating. Off-season months—late autumn and winter—offer better hangar availability at Florence and lower ambient humidity, which shortens curing time.

Operationally, ceramic fits between charter blocks, during scheduled maintenance downtime, or when the aircraft is positioning through Italy for other reasons. Three to six days in the hangar sounds long, but the alternative—flying to a completion centre, waiting in their queue, then flying back—often takes three weeks and costs more in ferry time and lost revenue. If your schedule allows only a shorter window, we can apply a single-layer system in two to three days, though the durability drops to twelve to eighteen months instead of two to three years. Either way, the process happens at Florence, on your timeline, with no surprises and no delays passed on from other customers in a distant queue.