AC 150/5370-10G, P-aint Removal?
By Donna Speidel

I'm usually not a proponent of more legislation, but it may be time for the FAA to create a new item in the new construction AC 150/5370-10; an item for paint removal. I hear confusion about the multiple variables that surround the process when I get common questions:

• "Does it have to be 100% removal?"
• "Isn't it the same as surface preparation?"
• "Will it damage my pavement?"
• "You can't black out markings anymore, so how much gray paint do I need?"

Recently we worked with a consulting engineer to design an airfield marking rehabilitation project on a "Top Ten" U.S. airport involving the removal of a lot of markings. The initial scope had prescribed that all markings would have to be removed entirely, or to a 95-100% degree.

Coincidentally, the same airport recently used Sightline to conduct an airfield marking assessment. As a result, the assessment already defined most of the variables for paint removal with respect to the airport's pavement types, individual marking conditions, recommended degrees of removal, etc.

After comparing with the assessment, only 30% of the markings in the initial scope required 95-100% removal, therefore the analysis from the assessment will save nearly $1M in removal cost, and reduce the overall impact to the airports' pavements. The remaining markings will require alternative methods during the rehab.

Without clear guidance about how to remove in any given situation, project scopes can easily become overgeneralized, as did paint removal requirements in this case. As noted in the Airfield Marking Handbook, "there are many different reasons for removing markings, and not all require 100%." The industry may benefit from official guidance on the many variables of paint removal that contribute to the result, particularly when an airfield marking assessment hasn't been completed. Developing a new item in the 5370-10 entitled "Paint Removal of Runway and Taxiway Markings", perhaps, would help further explain the reasons, degrees, and methods; it would benefit everyone involved.

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