GB1098481A - Improvements in or relating to decorative panels - Google Patents

Abstract

A process for the manufacture of decorative panels comprises forming grooves in a sheet blank of polyolefin to obtain a mould, casting thereon a sheet of synthetic resin which does not adhere to the mould, and removing the cast resin from the mould. The sheet blank e.g. of polyethylene, may be engraved to obtain the mould. The resin may be applied in two or more layers to form a laminate. A first layer of synthetic resin may be applied only into the grooves of the mould, the resin allowed to partially or completely set, and a further layer or layers of synthetic resin of the same or different colour from the first layer applied. The or each synthetic resin used may be cold-setting and may be a polyester or epoxy resin. The sheet of synthetic resin may be reinforced by incorporating therein or applying thereto glass fibre or other suitable reinforcing material e.g. "Terylene" (Trade Mark) or jute, during casting. The grooves may be formed in the sheet blank to divide it into a number of discrete regions p so that the resultant cast sheet of synthetic resin will show corresponding discrete regions bounded by ridges corresponding to the grooves in the mould, and at least some of the discrete regions may be coloured by applying colouring material e.g. coloured synthetic resin, thereto, to a height less than that of the ridges on the cast sheet which then separate adjacent regions. The cast synthetic resin may be translucent and any colouring material applied thereto is also translucent. The cast sheet may be bonded to a support layer e.g. metal, wood or glass sheet after casting. The support layer may be applied to the cast sheet before or after removal of the sheet from the mould. The decorative panels may be coated with a layer of translucent synthetic resin over the ridged surface thereof, which layer may serve to bond the cast sheet to a glass plate. Two decorative panels may be bonded together back to back to counteract any tendency of the panels to warp. The mould may be of curved form and thixotropic resin used to make the cast sheet which is thus also of curved form. The synthetic resin may be such that it can be remoulded after heating, the sheet of synthetic resin being cast flat and subsequently curved to any desired shape. The master plates may be formed by engraving, by heating a polyolefin sheet and then placing the sheet over a mould which may be for instance of wood, expanded polystyrene, clay or plaster material the air then being evacuated from between the sheet and the mould, or by casting the polyolefin from a mould formed from plasticine (Trade Mark) clay or other suitable material.