Why are (comercial, anyway) aircraft wings never painted?

Question

When flying (which I do a lot), I never see commercial passenger jets with painted wings. Why?

Answer 1

Ya they usually are painted, just a solid, light color.  They don't paint em dark colors because they try and keep the fuel tanks as cool as possible for maximum efficiency.

Answer 2

They are painted, just usually a solid color.  No sense spending the money to get a fancy paint job on a surface that no ones really going to see or care about.  Certain parts of the wing are not painted for various reasons though.

Answer 3

In order to avoid tip to tip wing distance contrast with surroundings? Thanks.

Answer 4

Some are painted.  Paint = Weight (and more cost to paint).  Look at American Airlines, they don't paint much to save weight.

Answer 5

Dunno, its not really necessary. The Wing-let's are usually painted, though.

Maybe its a safety issue, because like it might mess up the way the Spoilers engage, or the Ailerons, or the Flaps.

Answer 6

Paint for commercial aircraft costs a LOT of money and costs more to put it on the aircraft. Also, it adds weight which costs fuel and may cost payload. There is no real benefit to painting the wings, as they are not usually seen, unlike the tail.

Regards,

Dan