Since the end of 2018, the great arch of the Eiffel Tower has been partially hidden by a huge scaffolding. The Iron Lady is indeed getting a more extensive paint job than the regular seven-yearly paint jobs. Due to localized cracks in the heart of the nineteen previous coats of paint, this twentieth refreshment requires a total stripping of 82,020 sq. ft. or 25,000 m² (one tenth of the structure), or about thirty tons of paint. Once the iron is exposed, a new coat of the original yellow-brown paint is applied. This is an essential operation to protect the structure against weathering, rust and pollution.