Film surface finishing system

Abstract

This invention provides a flexible film for providing a protective finish on a surface. The film may optionally include a bonding coat for attaching the film to the surface, at least one removable protective layer, and a release coating for facilitating the transfer of the film to the surface. Cured and crosslinked top coats may be applied over the films to enhance the durability of the underlying surface. These top coats may then be easily removed by peeling the underlying film away from the surface.

1 . A surface finish comprising: 
 (a) a flexible film at least partially covering a surface; and    (b) a cured coating disposed over at least a portion of the film.    
     
     
         2 . The surface finish of  claim 1 , wherein the cured coating is an evaporatively-cured coating.  
     
     
         3 . The surface finish of  claim 1 , wherein the cured coating is an ambient-cured coating.  
     
     
         4 . The surface finish of  claim 1 , wherein the cured coating is an energy-cured coating.  
     
     
         5 . The surface finish of  claim 1 , wherein the cured coating is a permanent crosslinked coating.  
     
     
         6 . The surface finish of  claim 1 , wherein the flexible film has a thickness of no more than 10 mils.  
     
     
         7 . The surface finish of  claim 1 , further comprising a bonding coat disposed between the flexible film and the surface.  
     
     
         8 . The surface finish of  claim 5 , wherein the crosslinked coating is selected from the group consisting of acrylic coatings, polyurethane coatings, vinyl coatings and epoxy coatings.  
     
     
         9 . The surface finish of  claim 1 , wherein the flexible film comprises a film selected from the group consisting of polypropylene films, polyacetal films, polyamide films, polyanhydride films, polyester films, polyolefin films, polystyrene films, polyvinylchloride films, polyvinylidene chloride films, polyurethane films, and polyurea films.  
     
     
         10 . The surface finish of  claim 1 , wherein the flexible film can be removed from the surface by peeling without the use of stripping agents.  
     
     
         11 . A method for finishing a surface, the method comprising: 
 (a) applying a flexible film over at least a portion of the surface;    (b) applying a curable composition over at least a portion of the flexible film; and    (c) curing the composition to provide a cured polymer coating.    
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the cured polymer coating is a crosslinked polymer coating.  
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein curing the composition comprises energy-curing the composition.  
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the flexible film has a thickness of no more than 10 mils.  
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the polymer is energy-cured using heat, infrared radiation, ultraviolet radiation, radiowave radiation, microwave radiation or a combination thereof.  
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the crosslinked coating is selected from the group consisting of acrylic coatings, polyurethane coatings, vinyl coatings and epoxy coatings.  
     
     
         17 . A surface finish comprising a perforated flexible film at least partially covering a surface, the flexible film having a thickness of no more than 20 mils.  
     
     
         18 . The surface finish of  claim 17 , wherein the flexible film has a thickness of no more than 10 mils.  
     
     
         19 . The surface finish of  claim 17 , wherein the flexible film has an average of at least 1 perforation per square foot.  
     
     
         20 . The surface finish of  claim 17 , wherein the flexible film can be removed from the surface by peeling without the use of stripping agents.  
     
     
         21 . A method for finishing a surface with a flexible film, the method comprising: 
 (a) applying a liquid wetting agent having a surface tension equal to or less than the surface tension of water to the surface to be finished or to the lower surface of the flexible film; and    (b) pressing the flexible film onto the surface to be finished with the liquid wetting agent disposed between the flexible film and the surface to be finished.    
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 21 , wherein the wetting agent has a surface tension less than that of water.  
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 21 , wherein the flexible film has a thickness of no more than 10 mils.  
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 21 , wherein the flexible film has a bonding coat disposed on its the lower surface.  
     
     
         25 . A finished surface comprising a plurality of flexible film segments disposed adjacent one another on the surface, each flexible film segment having a thickness of less than 5 mils, wherein the edges of the flexible film segments do not overlap.  
     
     
         26 . The finished surface of  claim 25 , further comprising a bonding coat disposed between each flexible film segment and the surface.  
     
     
         27 . The finished surface of  claim 25 , wherein the flexible film segments can be removed from the surface by peeling without the use of stripping agents.  
     
     
         28 . A surface finish comprising: 
 (a) a flexible film at least partially covering a surface; and    (b) a top coat disposed over at least a portion of the flexible film, the top coat having a higher coefficient of friction than the flexible film.    
     
     
         29 . The surface finish of  claim 28 , wherein the top coat provides a non-slip surface finish.  
     
     
         30 . The surface finish of  claim 28 , wherein the top coat has a coefficient of friction as measured by ASTM D-2047 of at least 0.6.  
     
     
         31 . The surface finish of  claim 28 , wherein the top coat is a crosslinked polymer coating.