Unless I am mistaken…
Moggy

The paint on the BoB film Spitfires and Hurricanes was permanent, be it synthetic or cellulose.

The code letters were appliqués.

Initially the paint and codes were distressed and aged by the film technicians but the liveries degraded naturally during the filming of 1968.

Indeed it is the unique chippings, scars and staining acquired during cowling removals, fuelling and the like that ‘fingerprinted’ the participants and has facilitated RAF serial identification in the intervening years as new shots have emerged.

Some of the code letters did come adrift during filming and this is on photographic record.

Mark