Jean Boulle - advertorial July.qxp_Layout 1 24/07/2018 10:48 Page 1
ADVERTORIAL
How can you achieve the perfect diamond sparkle?
Q3. Can Sun King be applied on top of any colour or coating system? Yes, as Sun King comes mixed into a clearcoat it can be applied on top of any base colour, metallic or special effects coating. It can also be applied on top of existing aircraft liveries by removing the current top layer and applying Sun King on top to dramatically alter the visual appearance.
Jean Boulle Luxury’s unique technology for coating aircraft with diamonds has been causing a stir in the aviation industry since it was launched. Bertrand Boulle, Director of Jean Boulle Luxury, answers some of the common questions Jean Boulle Luxury receives from customers wanting to use Sun King® Diamond Coating to bring a brilliant sparkle to their aircraft.
Q1. Can you tell us how Jean Boulle Luxury transforms real diamonds into a coating for aircraft and how you came up with the idea? Our group has a long history in diamonds and in developing new technologies so it was a natural development for us. After several years of exhaustive R&D we perfected a proprietary technique for refining high quality natural diamonds which we are now in the process of patenting. We then worked with AkzoNobel to develop the techniques to mix it with their coating systems. The details of the process for working with the diamonds are confidential, as you would expect. But in summary we follow several steps to sort, degrease and clean the rough diamonds before crushing them to achieve just the right size to maintain reflection but also fit in a layer of coating. We also filter and further clean and process the crushed crystals to obtain maximum refraction.
Sun King is part of AkzoNobel’s AlumiGrip coating system but we believe it can also be applied on top of other aviation coating systems and adhesion tests are expected to be completed soon.
Q4. It must be difficult to apply such an unusual product? People assume that it must be difficult to work with Sun King, but this is definitely not the case. Sun King can be applied by most specialist aviation paint shops using standard coating equipment. Sun King is easier to work with than metallic or mica based special effect coatings and we can provide applicators with all necessary technical support and advice. Indeed, we have already applied it to the complete fuselage, engines and top of the wings of a Bombardier Global Express. We have also coated several superyacht tenders and supercars with no issues.
Q2. Is Sun King Diamond Coating an off the shelf product? No, Sun King is a bespoke product and we tailor each coating to meet the requirements of the customer. Factors such as the base colours used, the amount of sparkle a customer would like and the area being covered are all important to defining the right mix of diamonds in the coating.
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AVBUYER MAGAZINE – July 2018
www.AVBUYER.com
Aircraft Index see Page 129