Solid Panels: Cemented
For solid, smooth panels, apply NYTEK® without backing with contact cement following the suggestions in DIRECT CEMENT APPLICATIONS in the GENERAL APPLICATION section of this Users Guide.
For wood, gypsum board or other compatible substrates, use standard water-based wall covering cements with NYTEK® with the polycotton sheeting backing. Follow the suggestions in WALL COVERING in the General Applications section.
Solid Panels: Upholstered
For a padded look, follow the stretch and staple and/or direct cement method using the foam/tricot backing as described in MARINE APPLICATIONS in the SPECIAL APPLICATIONS section.
For a padded look without foam tricot backing, the panel should be upholstered using techniques discussed in UPHOLSTERY in the GENERAL APPLICATIONS section. The foam padding is glued to the panel and covered with a Dacron or other appropriate batting.
Not Recommended
- Gluing the NYTEK® directly to the foam may cause spots to appear where the adhesive coverage is low, resulting in areas where the foam to NYTEK® bond is low. These low bond areas may bubble in high humidity.
- Using too much adhesive will saturate the foam and result in thumb printing where the foam takes a permanent set after compression.
- Upholstering over foam alone also is not recommended. The cover will not sufficiently compress the foam, especially in the center of a large panel. Batting, however, is compressed by the stretching of the cover during upholstering and will push back the cover to help keep it tight and smooth.
- The NYTEK® cover must be stretched tightly and evenly over the panel before stapling in the back, especially with large panels. Ideally, the NYTEK® should be steamed or misted on the back, making it easier to stretch. After upholstering, the NYTEK® will contract and tighten with less humidity in the panel.
- Foam tricot backing can be used to help stabilize NYTEK® for applications where padding will not push the cover.
- Knit backed NYTEK® is an alternative. NYTEK® without backing is not as stable in humid conditions as the backed materials, but has been stretched over open panels.
- Stretching the NYTEK® is extremely critical in these applications since the cover will not be pushed out and kept smooth by battings and foams.
- The NYTEK® should be steamed or misted lightly on the back and then stretched evenly as much as possible in both directions to avoid wrinkles. The cross machine direction generally has more stretch than the machine direction.
Attach the NYTEK® securely after stretching, remembering that it will contract and get very tight in a dry environment. If the clips in the panel are inadequate, the tension produced by this contraction could pull the NYTEK® out of the clip or track. Stretching the NYTEK® in a humid environment will help it remain tight in these conditions.