The Discoloration of Vinyl Instrument Panels by Polyurethane Foam Backing

Current designs put automotive instrument panels and other interior trim parts under severe heat and light stress. Vinyl itself can be easily formulated to pass the most rigorous oven aging and light stability tests. With a semi-rigid polyurethane foam backing as is currently used in these applications even the most stable vinyls fail to pass proposed new specifications. This study deals with the mechanism of what is going on in the polyurethane backed vinyl that brings about this instability.