Method of manufacturing a patterned, coloured surface on an object as well as an object manufactured by the method and a paint for carrying out the method

Thls Inven-tlon relates to a method of preparlng a patterned, coloured surface on an obJect sultably of wooden or celluloslc materlal as well as an obJect manufactured by the method, and a palnt partlcularly Intended for carrylng out the method.

Palntlng and colourlr1g of surfaces on dlfferent materlals may be carrled out wlth palnts of wldely dlfferlng klnds and wlth applIcatlon of one or several layers of palnt and/or lacquers on the sur-face In dlfferent ways. In the matter of palntIng of surfaces of wooden or cellulose materlals a completely orpartly coverlng staln Is often utlllzed as palnt. In respect of artlcles of sheet-metal, e.g. cars, there Is often used palntlng wlth a so-called metalllc lacquer contalnlng me-tal powder whlch Is subsequently covered wlth at least one outer coatlng of a I preferably clear lacquer.

An old method of palntlng a surface In two or more colours resldes In palntlng each portlon of the surface Indlvldually wlth the colour Intended for the portlon In questlon (posslble under-treatment and other treatment of the surface here belng neglected). Another method of palntlng a surface, e.g.

In two colours, resldes In prlmarlly palntlng the whole surface wlth one of the two Intended palnts and subsequently palntlng predetermlned portlons of the surface wlth a completely coverlng coat Ing of the other palnt.

A ratlonal embodiment of the lastmentioned method whichmay be utilized in respect of profiled or relief-pat-terned surfaces resides in primarily painting the whole surface, e.g. by means of a soft paint roller, with a first paint and subsequently, after the required drying time, painting only the highest portions of the relief pattern with a differen-t paint by means of a ro]ler or the like which does not leave any paint in the valleys of the relief pattern. The relief pattern may be produced by milling grooves or recesses in the surface or creating theln in another manner. This method accordingly requires a-t least two paint application operations.

In JP A - 58-137 ~72 there is disclosed a method of manufacturing a decorative wooden panel, which bears a striking resemblance to natural wood. The surface is brushed or rugged, so tha-t the summer wood and the spring wood forms pro~ections and den-ts, respectively. The rugged surface is first painted with a transparent resin lacquer after which a coloured paint containing perl pigment is applied to the entire surface. Before the paint layer is dried part of the perl pigment is rendered oriented with respect to its condition, and the remainder is removed.

The invention provides a simplified method of twocolour-patterning of a surface having higher or elevated portions and lower or depressed portions, respectively, by one single application of paint.

According to the present invention there is provided a method of manufacturing a patterned, coloured surface on an object which comprises first preparing the pattern on the surface ! by removing or depressing predetermined portions of the surface, so that recesses or indentations are created therein, and subsequently applying on the whole surface including recesses a pain-t which in addition to dissolved dye or dye pigments and solvent, contains about 0.5-8%, calculated on the entire quantity of finished pain-t, inert or non-soluble, fine-grained particles 2 ~ ~3~94~ oE rne-tal, glass or plastic having a maximurn cross dimension which ls substantial]y larger than the maximum cross dimension of the dye piyments and is within the range 2-200 u.

The invention also provides a paint particularly intended for carrying out the rnethod according to claim 1, in addition to dissolved dye or dye pigments and solven-t, con-tains about 0.5-8%, calculated on the entire quantity of finished paint, of inert, fine-yrained particles of metal glass or plastic which have a cross dimension of the dye pigments and is con-tained in the range 2-200 u.

The present invention again provides ob;ects or artlcles which have been manufactured by the method according to the invention.

Through the invention there is accordingly provided a first, prede-termined colour tint on the elevated or higher portions of the object which have a retained or maintained surface coating and on the lower portions of the object there is simultaneously provided a second colour tint contrasting with said first colour tint, by means of one single application of paint.

In the accompanying drawings there are disclosed as non-limiting examples wooden fibreboards which have been patternpain-ted according to different embodiments of the method according to the invention. In the drawings: Fig. 1 is a partial cross-sectional view on a larger scale through a board or panel which has been treated or prepared according to the invention; and Fig.s 2-8 are plan views of plates or panels which have been treated and painted in accordance with the invention.

The invention primarily relates to pattern-painting of I .

- 3 - I ~34~41 ob~ects of wood or cellulose material, such as solid wood and board of diferent kinds, particularly masonite, veneer, chipboard, so-called MDF-board (Medium Density Fibreboard), other fibreboards and the like, and in the second instance to such pattern-painted objects and in the third instance to paint, particularly intended for carrying out the method in accordance with the inven-tion. Important fields of use for such objects in the shape of panels and !

_r~'"'.5~. ~ - 3a plates are cupboard d~ors, d~or blades, wall panels and posslbly table tops, bedstead ends, bedstead sldes, plcture frames, flllets, celling panels, and so on.

If a pronounced contrast between the hlgher and the lower portlons of the surface Is deslred, It Is In many cases, partlcularly In respect of chlpboard and other board not havlng a tlght surface, recommended to laccluer the surface to be palnted wlth a clear lacquer or prlme the surface wlth a surfacer; e.g. a completely coverlng colour or staln to reduce or elImlnate the sucklng or absorblng property of the surface.

After a posslble prellmlnary lacquerlng with a clear lacquer or other prImlng the embosslng or rellef-patternlng of the surface Is carrled out. Shallow grooves preferably havlng a conslderably greater wldth than depth are hereby mllled In the surface In a predetermlned pattern In the preferred embodlment.

Vlrtually any preprogrammed, easlly replaceable pattern may be created by means of computerlzed mllling cutters, now comlng Into use. Instead of mllllng the grooves, these may posslbly be provlded through another chlp or materlal removlng treatment or by depresslon, e.g. by means of an exchangeable, rellef-patterned roller.

The palnt Intended for the palntlng and preferably constltutlng a completely coverlng palnt wlth normal dye plgments, such as flne-ground mlcro-plgments and/or soluble colourlng agents, contalns accordlng to the Inventlon a fIne-gralned powder of Inert partlcles of metal, metal alloy or metal compound, glass, plastlc or the llke.

The flne-gralned mlcro-plgments preferably have a maxlmum cross dlmenslon < 1,G~.

The Inert palnt partlcles or powder gralns are Insoluble In the solvent and are preferably hard but may also conslsts of a softer materlal.

By "Inert" above It Is meant that the partlcles are such (or treated In such a manner) that they do not become coloured by the other dye agents comprlses In the palnt. When the Inert part Icles are of metal, they may conslst e.y. of alumlnlum or copperor o~ an alloy, partlcularly so-cal~ed gold bronze. A sultable materlal for the Iner-t partlcles Is perl plgment, I.e. mlnute glImmer gralns whlch have been coa~ed wlth a transparent, translucent or opaque palnt coatlng. Such transparent or translucent palnt coatlngs are sultable also wlth Inert partlcles In the form of metal powder, such as alumlnlum powder. The slze of the Inert partlcles should be less t~an some hundred ~ . A preferred slze range Is 2-200 ~ , preferably less tban 20 ~ , and 5 ~ Is a good va~ue. The particle slze Is dependent on the shape of the partlcle or graln and Its ablll-ty to remaln on the surface of a sucklng or absorblng substrate or basls. For Instance alumlnum plgment may be only about 7 ~,/, whlle a gllmn1er plgment may be 10-80 ~ In cross-sectlon. In any case the coarser, Inert partlcles shall have a maxlmum cr-oss dlmenslon whlch Is conslderably larger than the maxlmum cross dlmenslon of the dye plgments.

Examples of Inert, coarser partlcles are:

Alumlnlum powder CBRF Crown SlIver, approxlmately 7 Carlfors Bruk, Husqvarna Sweden Bronze Stapa Relchblelghgold 9900/4, approxlmately 7~ Eckartwerke, Furth-Bayern, FRG Coloured mlca Irlodln Perlglanzplgments Rot-braun, 10-60 GlItterbronze 530, 15-130 Merck,Dartmstadt, FRG Mearlln Copper, 5~40~ The Mearl Corporatlon, New York, USA Polvesterflltter 25/200 RD Blau, approxlmately 100 ~ Dragon-Werk Georg Wlid, Bayreuth, FRG .~L~3~ Glasdlamantlne Echtschwarz, approxImately 100 (Coloured glass balls) Dragon-Werk Coloured Polyurethan Dekosllk Rot Chemlsche Fabrlk Uetll<on Ci-l-8707 Uetlkon am See, Swltzerland The proportlon of Inert palnt partlcles should be 10 between about 0.1% and about 20% and preferably amounts to 0.5 10%. Usual proportlons are 1-~%, all calculated on the total amount of flnIshed palnt. T~le total amount of dye plgments Is usually between about 2% and about 25%.

The palnt also contalns a llmlted amount of blnder.

The blnder composltlon Is so selected that the blnder together wlth the flner dye plgments are sucked In Into the grooves but also covers the coarser, Inert plgments on the non-absorblng surface to a deslred extent. Examples of blnders are: Nltrocellu lose VF`1 from Bofors AB, Sweden and Cellulose acetobutyrate 0.05from Eastman, USA. The proportlon of blnder should generally be between 2% and 25%, preferably below 10% to 15%.

The penetratlon depth of the palnt In wood or cellulose materlal may be controlied by additlon of slllcon oxlde.

The paint Is so constructed that the fIner dye plgments determlne the tlnt of the non-absorblng portlons of the substrate by coverlng the coarser partlcles, and the coarser partlcles determlne the tlnt of the absorblng portlons (grooves or the llke), where the fIner dye plgments are sucked In Into the substrate. The coverlng ablllty Is obtalned by maklng elther the smaller dye plgments (the mlcro-plgments) or the Inert partlcles, e.g. alumlnlum powder coloured by transparent or translucent dye agents coverIng them.

9~ ~ To prevent inert particles in the form of comparatively heavy metal grains from falling to the bottom of the paint container from which the paint is applied, the paint should contain an additive of a plastic product in the shape of an artificial wax (a so-called micro-wax) and/or a plasticizer or softener or the like.

Instead of (or as a supplement to) such a wax continous agitation of the paint in the paint container may be used.

r,~bl~, In the following t~b-~e 1 there are specified 11 sample plates which have been manufactured according to the invention.

4~ ~-r ~ ~ Ul . U'~ ~ ~- ~ ~ U~ ~ U~ ~ . ~ ~ ~ ~ r~ ~, ~ ~ ~` ~ . ~ r~. ~' n ~E ~ ~ O _ _ ~ I~ ~ ..

__ ~ ~ _ __ _ __ _ _ _ _, ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~: 1~ ~ ~ ~ --__ __ __ __ _ _ _ __ .. 1~ _ .~ ~O .~ ~ a I _ 9 ~ ~34~1 The paint is suitably appliecl by spray painting or by means o~ a-~s rubber roller, alternatively a curtain machine or even a brush rnay be used for the application of the paint.

All known application methods a~e conceivable.

As the last measure in the carrying out of the painting metho~ accor~ing to the invention one or more coatings of a clear lacquer are suitably applied upon the stain or paint coating containing the metal pow~er or the like.

Fig. 1 illustrates part of a sample plate or board which has been treated and painted according to the invention. 1 designates a plate of MDF-board or the like and 2 a coating of prim~ing lacquer or surfacer which has been applied to the plate and which may possibly be omitted if the surface of the plate is substantially completely tight (non-absorbing). 3 is a groove in which the surface layer and the lacquer coating 2 has been milled away or removed in another way so that the surface of the groove has become absorbing.

The plate has been painted with a paint consisting of two components 4 and 5, respectively of which the first one 4 contains a binder, solvent and dye pigments having a par~icle size less than 1 ~, and the other component is comprised of inert particles in the shape of dye pigments having a particle size within the range about 10 - 80 ~.

The component 4 is sucked in into the plate 1 within the absorbing surface of the groove 3 but settles upon the component 5 on the non-absorbing surface of the plate 1.

The component 5 settles upon the absorbing surface of the groove 3 which has been coloured by the component 4, and immediately upon the 3~ priming lacquer coating 2, i.e. ur.der the component 4 on the non-absorbing surface. 6 designates a possible top layer of clear lacquer.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of a masonite ~oard which has initially been painted with a completely covering paint, 4~ according to the invention, upon which subsequently two coatings of clear lacquer have been applied.

Fig. 3 is a similar plan view of a masonite board which has fi`rst been primed with a barrier coating of clear lacquer, after which a stripe pattern of grooves has been milled in the lacquered surface upon which subsequently a coating of a completely covering paint according to the invention has been applied, after whictl the surface t:r~atment was finished by the application or a coating of clear lacquer.

Figs. 4 and 5 represent examples of cupboard doors manufactured according to the invention.

Fig. 6 is a plan view which on a larger scale illustrates part of a somewhat modified cupboard door which corresponds to sample 11 of table 1.

Fig. 7 is a plan view of a wardrobe door which has been surface treated and painted according to the invention.

Fig. 8 illustxates an end of a bedstead manufactured according to the invention.

The number of paint combinations which may be obtained on objects treated according to the invention is substantially unlimited.

Examples of such paint combinations on sample plates manufactured according to the invention are:

light blue - dark blue light brown - dark brown grey - brown dark blue - dark brown white - red-brown red - red-brown blue - bl~e-green red - gold brown - gold blue - gold grey - gold light pink - dark pink ~ ~ 9~ Three-dImenslonal, partlcularly clrcular-cyllncirical, obJects may also be provlded whlch have been pattern-palnted In accordance with the Inventlon.

1 0 .~ ~. ,.