Custom Services

Soft Touch

Soft Touch and Soft-to-Touch Hard Surfaces.
Soft Touch was originally developed by DuPont for application to surfaces of vehicle interiors which are often touched. The coating simply upgrades the feel of many automotive interior components. Soft Touch coatings applied to these areas provide a leather-like feel. Soft Touch paints were originally developed to make molded components in the automotive industry have the same feel as adjacent leather components. The coatings handle the rigorous heat and cool cycles of auto interiors.

Soft Touch is a high-performance, automotive-grade, two component urethane finish and works well on Planet Cast urethane parts. It can be applied as a clear translucent topcoat over a wide variety of substrates and basecoats to produce a lustrous full matte finish. The coatings are two component in chemistry and offer superior scratch/mar and chemical resistance (to things such as sunscreen and insect repellent) when compared with traditional one component systems.

Designers love it
Industrial designers like the surprising soft feel of the paint, the durability of the finish and extreme color flexibility. It is easily applied to otherwise hard rigid components. Designers may like to take advantage of changing the feel of a product's surface or changing its appearance. Over-molded components can be readily simulated using Soft Touch. Soft Touch can provide a true matte finish look that is hard to find otherwise. The coating goes over molded in or painted color and is transparent. It also can be ordered as a custom color.

These coatings also are available in various gloss levels ranging from extremely flat to high gloss. Examples of where soft touch systems are typically used include air bag covers, consoles and arm rests.

Automotive design trends include the use of exterior colors being used on the inside. This may include the actual exterior color with either a high-or low-gloss finish. Soft Touch clearcoats provide design and styling options that can include metallic and mica containing finishes. Planet Proto customers have used Soft Touch paint to provide a grippy surface to handheld electronics, radio buttons, computer peripherals, hair dryers, military binocular-like devices, laptop components, toys and control grip handles. Soft Touch may not be the best option for a finish that is constantly gripped for instance, a steering wheel. Like all painted finishes, constant contact will wear though the coating.

Cleanability and Resistance to Microbials
DuPont Performance Coatings offers two options for Soft Touch systems. Both are two component and called VelvaShield® and Aqua~DekoSoft®. Both VelvaShield® and Aqua~DekoSoft® are available with Teflon®, for superior cleanability, or with antimicrobial agents designed to minimize the growth of microbials such as E. coli and other bacteria and fungi.