Surface Protection in the Automotive Industry

Many people are aware of the wonderful performance properties of UHMW, but many forget that UHMW is an excellent material for protecting finished surfaces. A supplier to Ford was having a problem with racking used to transport bumpers. If the bumper came in contact with the orange racking, the bumper would be scrapped - headlights, turn signals and all which was creating a great expense to Ford.

The answer was to apply a .020" thick UHMW tape to the rack which was able to conform around the radii and eliminate any marring on the bumper.

The company tried a number of options to solve the problem including flock and felt tapes, but they too would leave scuff marks or black streaks.

You could even take the bumper and ram it into the rack without causing any damage to the bumper whatsoever. A black film was used as the racks are occasionally stored outside and a high tack cross linked rubber was used for high adhesion. The life of the rack is 5r years as models are changed every 5 years and new racks are built.