Introduction to decorative wall panel finishes

In this section, we will discuss decorative wall panels.

Using high-density calcium silicate board or fiber cement board as the base material, with a surface composite decorative layer, gives decorative wall panels more decorative and design sense, and of course, gives owners more material choices. The names of such wall panels on the market are currently quite chaotic, anyway, there are no national or industry standards, and manufacturers name them themselves.

Similar to Zhang Daming from the neighboring village, his parents thought that a humble name was easy to raise, so he was called Ergou. His friends in the village gave him the nickname Xiaohui. When he was in junior high school, he watched several old TV dramas and discovered his idol, so he called himself Shanji. In Zhang Daming's social circle, the names Zhang Daming, Ergou, Xiaohui, and Shanji all point to him very clearly, but outside this circle, outsiders are a little confused.

Decorative wall panels with calcium silicate board as the substrate are currently facing a similar predicament to Zhang Daming. Inorganic decorative wall panels, Class A fire-rated decorative wall panels, quartz fiber boards, film-coated calcium silicate boards, even ice and fire boards, inorganic pre-coated boards, wood grain decorative boards, negative ion health boards, Mos boards, and so on, are numerous, fully demonstrating the artistic cells and imagination of each manufacturer, exhausting the ingenuity of words. People in the industry, no matter what it is called, look at its thickness, technical standards, parameter requirements, etc., and can basically lock it at a glance.

Why does it have so many names? In fact, everyone's purpose is very clear, that is, it is aimed at people outside the industry. Some people think that by muddying the water, they can fish in troubled waters. In clear water, the fisherman and the fish stare at each other across the water, and they can't hide any small movements.

After so much idle talk, let's get back to the product itself.

On the market, we Common finishing methods include: melamine-impregnated resin film paper, wood veneer, PVC veneer, UV paint veneer, etc.

1. Melamine-impregnated resin film paper veneer.

It is made of impregnated paper made from colorless and transparent, heat-resistant and water-resistant melamine resin. ， This impregnated film paper can be used for the surface of various artificial boards. The process is simple and the cost is relatively low, so it has become one of the most commonly used finishing processes for a long time. Because of the use of melamine resin, this impregnated paper veneer calcium silicate board wall panel is sometimes referred to as melamine paper, or because of its hot pressing process, it is called hot pressing melamine paper, and some people also call it ice and fire board, quartz fiber board, etc.

We often say “wood grain” 、 “stone grain” 、 “fabric grain”, etc. etc. are the patterns of the film paper. 。 The characteristics are easy to care for, and have good scratch resistance and wear resistance.

2. Wood veneer.

Also known as veneer or tech wood veneer.

Thin wood (veneer) is generally a thin board or veneer made by rotary cutting or planing wood, and then it is applied to calcium silicate board surface to create a realistic feeling close to real wood.

Commonly used tree species include: ash, rosewood, oak, black walnut, teak, and various redwoods.

This process can achieve the effect of artificial board materials with the texture of real wood at a lower cost, and the texture is more natural and beautiful. The characteristics are High appearance, more natural and real, higher grade Of course, the cost will also increase. Because it is natural veneer, color difference is inevitable. Some people like it, while others disdain it.

3. PVC film veneer.

It uses polyvinyl chloride thin film as veneer layer , abbreviated as PVC ， Due to differences in processing technology, it can be flat-pasted or edge-wrapped. Cold-pasting technology is used, which reduces the requirements for the base board. Due to the large difference in quality levels between PVC film and base board, the cost of the laminating machine is not high, and the entry barrier is low, there are many small workshops, resulting in uneven quality of similar products on the market, which puts higher demands on users' ability to identify.

Features include good stain resistance, wear resistance, and easy cleaning properties, excellent waterproof performance and product stability.

How do we identify What are the quality differences in PVC film-coated boards? This can be broken down into two parts: the substrate and the PVC film. For the substrate, if the factory has both substrate and film-coating production lines, the quality is naturally more assured; otherwise, we need to be able to distinguish the substrate based on factors such as density, flexural strength, and whether a back coating is applied—all of which affect cost. As for the PVC film, there are naturally differences in film quality as well, with prices ranging from a few yuan/meter to tens of yuan/meter. Differences can be identified by factors such as light transmittance, the smell and color after burning, and tensile strength. Inferior films will inevitably cut corners in raw materials and processing, such as using more recycled materials, resulting in uneven coverage. In the finished product, this manifests as see-through areas under light.

IV. UV paint veneer

UV paint veneer ， Also known as inorganic pre-coated panels, refers to sandblasted and smoothed panels ， that, after undergoing penetration and back-coating treatment, are produced by multiple spray applications of primer and topcoat, and multiple sanding and irradiation processes.

The characteristics are that the finished product has a smooth, even surface, 、 is waterproof and moisture-proof, 、 and is easy to clean. 。 Because it is essentially paint, the colors are mainly monochromatic, referring to the RAL color chart.

High-quality inorganic pre-coated panels generally undergo the following processes: multiple sanding of panels → front penetration, back coating → leveling → 2 coats of white base → sanding → 2 coats of color paint → 1 coat of clear coat → 1 coat of functional topcoat. After these processes, the production line is generally around 180 meters long. Any production line found to be unusually short should be viewed with caution, as it may indicate a reduction in production processes, such as applying only one coat instead of two. This results in defects such as low coating amount, poor coverage, and see-through areas in the finished product. The functional topcoat gives the inorganic pre-coated panel antibacterial and anti-fouling properties, which is very important in environments with cleanliness requirements.

The mainstream calcium silicate board decorative wall panels currently on the market are the 4 processes listed above. Actually, there is no such thing as good or bad processes; it all depends on which characteristics we care most about and what kind of decorative effect we need. The best one is the one that suits our needs; there's no such thing as 'the more expensive, the better'.