Heskins - Safety Tape Application Temperatures

Heskins Ltd is a specialist manufacturer of self adhesive abrasive safety tape based in the North West of England.

Let’s talk temperatures, specifically Heskins safety tape application temperatures, why we state them and how they affect our products. We normally suggest a minimum application temperature of over 10°C for our materials, one can apply at lower temperatures but plus 10°C is a great indicator. One question we get asked is why?

Safety Tape Application Science

Our safety materials are self-adhesive. Self-adhesives are held in a semi-liquid state under the protective liner. When the liner is removed, the anti-slip tape is then pressed down onto the surface. At the point that pressure is applied (our adhesives are officially categorised as Pressure Sensitive Adhesives, PSA) the adhesive ‘wets out’. The adhesive is forced onto the application surface, inside the adhesive are small globules of resins along with chains of acrylic. The resins grab and the acrylic starts to move and slowly bond onto the surface. The application temperature is a critical element.  If the temperature is too low then the resins are too rigid and cannot be readily pressed onto the surface resulting in possible initial grab failure. The acrylic, which provides the strong long-term bond, cannot flow as its viscosity has increased so cannot correctly hold, resulting in a weaker long-term grip.

Surface Temperature

One must factor in that the anti-slip tape application is not merely dependent on the air temperature but the mainly on the surface temperature, this is what it is will adhere on to. One possible solution is to raise the surface temperature prior to adhesion, this can be achieved with the use of heat guns etc.

Once correctly applied the temperature can safely vary without any problems within certain parameters. For example, our H3401N black standard anti slip tape can happily cope with temperatures between -30°C and up to +70°C. If a customer requires higher temperatures there are alternatives; H3406 is highly temperature resistant (being metal foil based). Different plastics and adhesives can be used.

For more information on safety tape application please visit our website

www.heskins.com

Or alternatively fill out the contact us form and a member of Heskins sales team will get back to you.