C-130 paint/depaint area caught up in wake of facility shutdown Published July 15, 2011 By Wayne Crenshaw 78 ABW/PA ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. -- The critical C-130 paint and depaint facilities in Buildings 50 and 89 are fully operational again thanks to the collaborative effort of several organizations. The facilities shut down March 31 after the 78th Medical Group's Bioenvironmental Engineering flight performed air tests in the buildings and found air flow was not functioning properly. Without proper air flow, paint fumes can build up and cause a safety issue, said Paul Kelley, 78th Civil Engineer Squadron director. In addition to improper air flow, the air conditioning system itself was not functioning properly, an issue for both worker comfort and paint quality. Although painters wear personal protective equipment, operations were shut down as a precaution. By May 13, CE workers had fixed the problem in Bldg. 50, the depaint building, but it took until May 20 to fix the problem in Bldg. 89, the paint building. A contract to repair the entire system is still underway. Kelley said correcting the problems was a priority for the 78th CES. "We devoted quite a bit of resources to it," he said. "It's been a collaborative effort working with the 402nd and Bioenvironmental Engineering." Paint and depaint operations are critically important to the workflow. These aircraft have to be depainted before entering into programmed depot maintenance, and must be painted before being released back to the customer. Depaint and painting is done by the 402nd Aircraft Maintenance Support Squadron. John Kieweg, deputy director of the 402nd AMXSS, said workers in the paint/depaint facility put in a lot of overtime to catch up on the logjam that occurred due to the shut down. Production was back on track by mid-June, he said.