Plastic Decoration: KURZ Protective Foils

What do I need to take into consideration when applying protective foil to decorated surfaces?

Our coating solutions produce a very high-quality surface fi nish. If you plan to use a protective foil to protect these decorated surfaces, e.g. to avoid damage during transport, storage or subsequent processing steps, we have summarized for you here a number of important things that you need to take into consideration. Our aim is to ensure that our surfaces are not damaged by the protective foil, thereby avoiding any inconvenience to you or your customers.

Chemistry meets chemistry ...

Protective foils are extremely complex systems that need to be tailored to each specific application. There are numerous carrier film materials and a wide variety of adhesives systems available on the market, each with a very different chemical composition.

When one chemical system comes into contact with another, it is possible in some cases for unexpected reactions to occur that can attack even the most high-quality surface coatings (e.g. splitting or widespread delamination of the lacquer, latent discoloration/spot formation, etc.).

To avoid any possible damage to the decorated surfaces, the protective foils that you use should contain adhesive layers that have been tailored to the KURZ finishes and your application.

Legend: 1= protective foil 2= surface coating 3= substrate

Do not trust any protection without testing it first

To prevent surfaces decorated with KURZ foil from being damaged, you should select a protective foil that is suitable for the specific application, and patch test it before applying it to larger areas.

The most important aspects to be taken into consideration when using protective foils are:

Check the applications for which the protective foil is suitable
Consider the chemical compatibility between the adhesive and the surfacebeing protected
Ensure the protective foil has a suitable adhesive strength
Take into consideration the different pressure required when applying the foilmanually or by machine

Conscientious selection is the key

It is the processor's responsibility to select and use an appropriate protective foil. Preliminary testing is therefore strongly advised.

For general information and guidance purposes, we are only too happy to provide you with technical specifi cations, product information sheets and application guidelines for any of our products.