Decoration of moulded instrument panels with flock - to modify the appearance for colour, texture or fit

摘要

A shaped instrument panel moulded from rigid thermoplastics material is decorated by applying an adhesive coating followed by a dressing of fibrous flock. The adhesive is heat cured and superfluous flock then removed by brushing. Pref. the flock has a length of 0.02-0.2 mm and is electrostatically oriented during deposition. The adhesive is chosen to suit the base material, e.g. epoxy resin for a polypropylene moulding, styrene for an ABS moulding. The treated panel is subsequently stored at 60-100 deg.C for 15-30 mins. The appearance of a series of similar mouldings can be varied by changing the colour/size/loading of flock. The coarse surface masks small variations in dimensions or fit between the edges of the panel and its instruments or adjacent panels.