Decorative surface coverings

The compositions can be used in decorative surface coverings, such as a floor coverings. The floor covering may also include one... 

Typical applications for PVC-P materials include floor and wall coverings, film packaging, decorative surface coatings and stationery. Calendered PVC-U sheet is used for thermoforming of packs and containers. 

There are three layers in decorative floor covering. The second and the third layers are made from PVC with composition given in the table above. The surface layer is made from polyethylene terephthalate film which protects decorative patterns printed by gravure printing under polyethylene terephthalate film. 

Figure 4.30 shows a stmcture of decorative floor covering which contains two PVC layers whose formulations are given in the above table. The cross-sectional view illustrates stmcture of material, in which a polyvinyl chloride resin substrate layer (10) is disposed on a decorative floor covering, and a surface layer... 

Appliques or surface coverings can be applied using heat or pressure by different methods, e.g., hot stamping, decals, hot transfer, water transfer, in-mould decorating. Decals are decorations or labels printed on carriers such as paper or plastic with a pressure-sensitive adhesives. 

Vinyl film, saturated paper, and fabric are bonded to plywood, chipboard, and steel to produce a variety of decorative panels, from simulated wood paneling to fabric-covered modular office sections. Generally, the adhesive is coated onto the rigid substrate via roll coater or spray application. Roll coater adhesive application to plywood and chipboard generally requires more than one pass for sufficient adhesive deposition, since the surfaces tend to absorb the adhesive. The primer or sealer coat is generally dried completely before a second coat is applied. Then, this second coat is subjected to a partial dry before nipping-some-times under heat—to the decorative surface film. When the flexible laminate is bonded to a metal surface such as office partition sections, the adhesive usually is deposited via spray application onto the metal. 

Decorative surfaces are obtained by applying a top sheet of white paper on which there is a printed design. This is covered with a clear coating of melamine or vinyl resin. Or, a thin transparent (when cured) paper impregnated with melamine resin may be applied to a decorative veneer, providing a permanent protective finish. 

In Western Europe the largest user is the vehicle construction industry where ABS has been used for fascia panels, door covers, door handles, radiator grilles, ventilation system components, heater housings, seat belt fastenings, console panels, loudspeaker housings, interior trim and other uses. For some years there was extensive use of electroplated ABS. Whilst this continues to be used for nameplates, reflectors and other parts where a bright reflecting surface is a requirement, it has tended to fall out of favour simply for decoration. 

Two main properties render a material valuable for producing a pigment that it reflects light of a particular color and that it covers and hides underlying surface imperfections, a property known as hiding power. It is also these two properties that make pigments ideal materials for making paints, preparations used to decorate and protect surfaces and obliterate their imperfections (see Textbox 18). Paints have been made and used since very early antiquity (Colombo 1995 Ashok 1993). 

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