Painting or coating aluminium composite panels such as Alupanel and Dibond is very achievable provided that the preparations are carried out properly. For sheets with a factory coating, it is important that the existing coating is roughened. You must prevent grease and dirt from entering the existing coating layer so the surface must first be cleaned and greased before you start sanding. Clean the panel thoroughly according to our cleaning instructions and dry the surface with a dry, grease-free cloth. Next, wipe the surface with alcohol, oil-based solvents must be avoided. After this, sand the surface with fine grit (200) or with abrasive wool (Scotchbrite), then wipe away the sanding dust and degrease the panel once again.
For Dibond sheets with a sanded aluminium surface, the sanding must be done in two steps to prevent the sanded structure from shining through the coating – unless this is desired, of course. First, clean the panel in accordance with our cleaning instructions and degrease it. Sand the sheet with 200 grit sandpaper, diagonally on the existing structure. Do not press too hard, because the aluminium top layer is very thin (0.4 millimetres). You must only sand once or twice in the same place. After this, rub the sheet lightly one more time with a wool pad.
Dyeing and coating Dibond
Once the panel has been prepared, you can paint or coat it. To prepare for the process of dyeing, you must wipe the plate with alcohol immediately beforehand. Note: powder coating is not feasible! Follow the processing instructions of the paint or coating manufacturer strictly. The coating must be suitable for an aluminium substrate, and keep in mind that the coating should not be applied too thickly. When choosing the paint system, you should take into account the fact that aluminium Dibond should not be exposed to high temperatures so you cannot place the sheet in an oven or drying room to let the paint dry. The paint system should dry and cure at normal room temperature. We advise you to lay the sheets horizontally during drying, this will give you a nice, even coating layer.
Printing Dibond
Do you want to print Aluminum Dibond? In this case, you don’t have to pre-treat the sheet, because the Dibond coating has been specially developed for printing. The coating is suitable for a wide range of printing techniques, especially for printing with epoxy/urethane bicomponent ink. Clean the panel well with a dry, lint-free cloth, then rub it over with alcohol and allow this to evaporate: the panel is now ready for printing.