Northrop Grumman is introducing an "environmentally safe" method for stripping paint from B-2 stealth bombers, which uses wheat starch as the blast material. The US manufacturer says that the dry alternative eliminates vapour emissions and produces less-hazardous waste than that associated with conventional, solvent-based paint strippers. The process is also designed to remove paint without damaging the aircraft's composite surfaces. Each B-2 is expected to be stripped and repainted around four times during its operational lifetime.
Source: Flight International
