[Graham Boak]

Given that the propellors had (and have) to be very carefully balanced to prevent damaging vibrations, I'm willing to bet that paint was not slapped on willy-nilly. It may have seemed that way to the aircrew, with only a passing interest or involvement in the processes involved. The more I find out about the subject, the more I discover that even the oddest schemes (yes, even the Luftwaffe ones) are rooted in careful planning, and good engineering practice. Just slapping on any old paint is not the way it was done: that would have been the way to reduce the aircraft's performance and affect its handling, particularly when the control surfaces were involved. Having said that, most aircraft have a fair margin on both, and a poorly-trained or less-sensitive pilot might not even notice the difference, but the difference would be there, ready to bite in combat or extreme flying conditions.

There was a large amount of engineering effort put into determining the best kind of paints for aircraft use, and the correct application and maintenance of these to gain advantage. Throwing this away by carelessness or ignorance may well have happened at times, given all other priorities, but was never good practice.