Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B05—SPRAYING OR ATOMISING IN GENERAL; APPLYING FLUENT MATERIALS TO SURFACES, IN GENERAL
  • B05D—PROCESSES FOR APPLYING FLUENT MATERIALS TO SURFACES, IN GENERAL
  • B05D5/00—Processes for applying liquids or other fluent materials to surfaces to obtain special surface effects, finishes or structures
  • B05D5/06—Processes for applying liquids or other fluent materials to surfaces to obtain special surface effects, finishes or structures to obtain multicolour or other optical effects
  • B05D5/061—Special surface effect
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B44—DECORATIVE ARTS
  • B44F—SPECIAL DESIGNS OR PICTURES
  • B44F9/00—Designs imitating natural patterns
  • B44F9/02—Designs imitating natural patterns wood grain effects
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B44—DECORATIVE ARTS
  • B44F—SPECIAL DESIGNS OR PICTURES
  • B44F9/00—Designs imitating natural patterns
  • B44F9/04—Designs imitating natural patterns of stone surfaces, e.g. marble

Definitions

• This invention relates to a method for coating surfaces in general and decorating them with powders of various colours.
• marble has the added drawbacks of considerable weight, as it can be formed only into slabs of a certain minimum thickness, and with only flat surfaces, unless further costly surface machining is undertaken.
• a known method of decoration is photofiliming, in which a powder or liquid coating forming the background colour is applied to the surface to be decorated, followed by the application thereon of a film reproducing the required decoration.
• This method has various drawbacks, including: - high cost due both to the intrinsic cost of the materials and the cost of adapting a traditional coating plant, - an unsatisfactory result from the aesthetic viewpoint due to the excessive uniformity of the decoration, - limited resistance to atmospheric agents.
• Another known decoration method is to apply a PVC covering to the surface concerned, and in particular to form by traditional methods a PVC film reproducing the desired decorations, in imitation of wood or marble, and to glue this film to the surface to be decorated.
• Figure 1 is a perspective view of a surface to be subjected to the treatment according to the invention
• Figure 2 shows it after the initial heating stage
• Figure 3 shows it after final baking.
• the method of the invention is applicable to any metal, ceramic, plastic, wood or glass surface to be decorated, in such a manner as to assume the typical appearance of a natural surface, such as wood or marble.
• the surface 2 is firstly subjected to specific treatment depending on the nature of the surface to be decorated, but which in itself does not form part of the invention.
• a layer of powdered coating material 4 in particular of polyester, epoxy or epoxypolyester resins, of colour corresponding to the desidered background colour for the decoration to be obtained.
• Polyester- hydroxyalkylamide resins, polyurethane resins, acrylic resins, epoxyacrylic resins, acrylopolyurethane resins or acrylopolyester resins can also be applied.
• the powdered coating material 4 After the powdered coating material 4 has been applied to the surface, it is heated to a temperature less than the baking temperature of said coating, but sufficient to cause it to fix to the surface to be decorated.
• the heating temperature is about 75-90°C and can be achieved by providing, in a traditional powder coating line, pairs of catalytic heating panels, heating lamps, ultraviolet lamps, etc., between which the surface to be decorated is passed.
• this two stages can be repeated.
• a second powdered coating material 6 of colour corresponding to the coloured motif to be reproduced is applied to the surface prepared in this manner.
• This second powdered coating material also preferably consists of the aforesaid resins.
• the second powdered coating material 6 can be applied either as a suspension of the powder 6 in a slow-drying liquid vehicle, or can be applied in the dry state.
• a liquid of slow evaporation or a slow-drying acrylic liquid is preferably used, the powdered coating material 6 being mixed into this liquid to form a suspension.
• the suspension is then spread over the surface to be decorated with automatic or manual applicators which arrange the powdered coating material 6 in the required decorative pattern.
• the decoration can also be modified by direct intervention of the operator, who can even produce the characteristic form of wood knots.
• powdered coating material 6 If the powdered coating material 6 is applied dry, its application can be by various methods.
• a first method consists of applying to the surface to be decorated a uniform layer of powder 6 and then removing the excessive portion so as to form the desired graining. This removal can be achieved either by suction or by a process of coordinated wiping by mechanically or manually operated tools, such as brushes, blades, pads, sponges etc.
• a tool can consist of an automatic applicator formed from a pair of cylindrical rotary pads with the surface worked according to the notif to be reproduced or rotary brushes sprayed with liquids and used for partially removing the excess quantity of powder, previously applied to the piece to be treated, to leave on its surface the particular decoration to be obtained.
• a different method of applying the powder 6 is to use a sort of silkscreen stencil reproducing the required decorative pattern.
• the result of this treatment is a surface having an outer appearance totally similar to the surfaces of natural materials, but with decidedly better characteristics than those obtainable by traditional methods.
• Coating tearing tests, chequering tests and acetic salt-spray tests were carried out on samples of surfaces obtained in this manner and gave positive results. In particular, these latter tests exceeded more than 1000 hours without any formation of bubbles or blisters.
• the method of the invention can be used for forming a large number o products, including: - metal section bars for window frames with a wooden or marble outer appearance, - metal plates for household electrical appliances with a wooden or marble outer appearance,

Landscapes

• Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Wood Science & Technology (AREA)
• Application Of Or Painting With Fluid Materials (AREA)

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Applications Claiming Priority (4)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=26332571

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (11)

Cited By (12)

Families Citing this family (3)

Citations (9)

Family Cites Families (2)

• 1996
  • 1996-07-24 CA CA002225534A patent/CA2225534A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 1996-07-24 BR BR9609899-6A patent/BR9609899A/pt not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 1996-07-24 PT PT96927592T patent/PT843598E/pt unknown
  • 1996-07-24 EP EP96927592A patent/EP0843598B1/de not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1996-07-24 ES ES96927592T patent/ES2185792T3/es not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1996-07-24 AT AT96927592T patent/ATE226853T1/de not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 1996-07-24 WO PCT/EP1996/003264 patent/WO1997005965A1/en active IP Right Grant
  • 1996-07-24 RU RU98103983/12A patent/RU2166381C2/ru not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 1996-07-24 AU AU67367/96A patent/AU709748B2/en not_active Ceased
  • 1996-07-24 DE DE69624574T patent/DE69624574T2/de not_active Expired - Fee Related
• 1998
  • 1998-03-04 BG BG102292A patent/BG63455B1/bg unknown

Patent Citations (9)

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