• Resistance to surface wear <70 mg/100 turns(NEMA LD1-2.01)

• Resistance to abrasion 400 turns (ISO 4586/2)

• Resistance to scratching 2.5 N (ISO 4586/2)
• 2.5 N (EN 438-2)

• Resistance to staining No change (ISO 4586/2)

• Rating 5 for Groups 1 and 2

• Rating 4 for Groups 3 and 4 (EN 438-2)

• Resistance to dry heat No change (ISO 4586/2)

• Degree 5 (EN 438-2)

• Resistance to immersion in boiling water

• Mass increase: max. 1.5% (ISO 4586/2)

• Degree 5 (EN 438-2)

• Dimensional stability at high temperatures 0.1%

• (ISO 4586/2)

• Resistance to colour change in xenon arc light

• Blue wool standard: >6 (ISO 4586/2)

• Grey scale grade: 5 (EN 438-2)

• Resistance to cigarette burns Slight change of

• gloss, only visible from certain viewing angles

• and/or slight brown staining. Rating 4

• (ISO 4586/2)

• Thermic ageing Dimensional change < 0.1%.

• No undulations or fissures on surfaces

• Resistance to salt fog No change (ASTM B 117)

• Coefficient of thermic linear dilation 1.7. 10-5°C-1

• (ASTM D 696)

Two important requirements must always be observed when installing HPL Cladding Panels:

1. Adequate ventilation must be provided between the back of the panel and the supporting structure, to ensure that climatic conditions (ie temperature and humidity) are identical at front and rear of the panel.
2. Panel joints must allow for expansion of individual panels. HPL Cladding Panels must never be butted closely together.

Observance of these requirements will prevent warping of the panels, which could lead to de-lamination of the decorative sheets.

HPL Cladding Panels change size according to humidity and temperature. Normally panels contract in conditions of low humidity and expand in conditions of high humidity. Average expansion of HPL Cladding Panels is: approx. 1 mm/linear metre along the sheet approx. 2 mm across the sheet.

The spacing of the fixing holes should be arranged so as to prevent any warping of the panel, in either longitudinal or transverse direction.

The spacing of the fixings will vary according to the thickness of the panel and the environmental conditions (ie the wind loading) of the application site.

When fixing HPL Cladding Panels, it is good practice to use one fixed point, ie a hole of reduced diameter, with all other fixing holes allowing movement in two directions. (See Fixing details, Figure 1.)

Fixing holes should be positioned between 20 and 50 mm from the edge of the panel.

HPL Cladding Panels can be fixed to substructures of aluminium, steel or treated timber, by any of the following methods:

• Stainless steel screws or rivets fixed through the panel (Figure 2)

• Self-tapping screws fixed into the back of the panel (Figure 3)

• Supporting clips

• Structural adhesive applied to the supporting structure

The appropriate fixing method should be selected in consultation with the appointed fixing contractor.

HPL Cladding Panels should only be cut using a suitable circular saw.

Panels should only be cut into sub-multiples of standard sizes.

In order to obtain perfectly square sheets, panels should be trimmed on all four sides.

When installing cut panels, care should be taken to ensure that all panels are fixed in the same direction. If the direction of the fibres is changed, the panel will reflect light differently, causing a clearly visible variation in colour.

When cutting panels, allowance should always be made for the thickness of the saw blade.