SHILDON, England, Oct. 8, 2012 Special-effect coatings by PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) aerospace coatings group enabled Virgin Atlantic Airways to have the unique reflectivity and bright, vibrant color the airlines design and engineering teams wanted for its new livery.

The airline has taken delivery of the first new aircraft an Airbus A330 painted with DESOTHANE(R) topcoats by PPG Aerospace colored with ANDARO(R) special-effect pigment. The proprietary PPG pigment was used in coatings that create the red tail and engines and the aubergine Virgin Atlantic lettering across the aircraft. The fuselage is painted with Desothane topcoats in high-sparkle silver mica.

Traditional mica aircraft coatings have about 30 percent reflectivity, while coatings with Andaro pigment reflect about 90 percent of visible light, according to Alex Reid, PPG Aerospace account manager at the North Europe application support center in Shildon, England.

Virgin Atlantic likes innovative technology, Reid said. Because using Andaro pigment in aerospace coatings was new, we worked closely with Virgins engineering team to get the products approved to apply to their aircraft. We worked alongside their design team to get the unique colors made with Andaro pigment incorporated into their new company identity.

Virgin Atlantics design team came to PPG with a vision for the coloring. Reid and the PPG Aerospace coatings team sought input from color experts in PPGs automotive OEM coatings business, and they adapted the Andaro pigment technology for aerospace coating applications.

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PPG Aerospace Special-Effect Coatings Bring Virgin Atlantic Airways’ Livery to Life