Coating process

Claim 1

A process for the manufacture of a flexible and stretchable sheet material adapted for use in a thermoforming process in which it is stretched to conform to a three-dimensional substrate and bonded thereto so as to form a smooth and wrinkle-free protective and decorative coating thereon, said process comprising the steps of: (1) providing a thin, essentially planar, stretchable, thermoplastic polymeric support of substantially uniform thickness; (2) providing a fluid paint composition comprising a film-forming binder and a colorant; (3) forming a laminar flow of said paint composition and directing said flow into contact with the surface of said thermoplastic polymeric support to form thereon a thin paint layer of substantially uniform thickness; (4) converting said paint layer to a dry and tack-free state; (5) continuously passing a web of said sheet material having on its surface the dried paint layer in proximity to a coating hopper having a narrow horizontal extrusion slot, (6) continuously feeding to a mixing zone as a first component a clear solution of a crosslinkable film-forming polymer, (7) continuously feeding to the same mixing zone as a second component a solution of a crosslinking agent for said film-forming polymer, (8) continuously feeding the resulting mixture from said mixing zone directly to said hopper and (9) extruding the mixture in laminar flow through said slot to form a clearcoat over the dried paint layer of the web, said mixture being extruded within less than about 50 seconds after being formed in the mixing zone.