Carrier jet blast deflectors - sooty or not?

I'm not a "carrier guy" but an ex Boatswain's Mate. 

With all those "deck apes" on a carrier with nothing to do most of the time, there would be work details to keep the deflector clean.  The discoloration might be from the heat of the exhaust.

Rember "if it moves, salute it; if it doesn't move, paint it." 

 not sooty,slight oily residue,deck crews and the airwing wash the flight deck down every chance the get,helps prevent corrosion and slipping accidents.yes there is non skid applied but the deck still gets slick.

armornut wrote:

not sooty,slight oily residue,deck crews and the airwing wash the flight deck down every chance the get,helps prevent corrosion and slipping accidents.yes there is non skid applied but the deck still gets slick.

It's a mixture of jet exhaust, hydraulic fluid, JP-5, tire rubber, and just about anything you can imagine. If you fly 8 cycles ( 1 cycle=launch and recovery) a day, that's hundreds of uses a day for extended periods. We got the opportunity for flightdeck wash downs whenever dictated, usually when the deck got as slick as ice. I spent a few years in flightdeck Crash and Salvage and here are a few photos I took that might be of use to you. A few front and back. To be honest, I only saw the JBDs clean in port and then they were a dark gray. Hope this helps.

   Eddie