Dry paint transfer process for making deep-draw high doi automotive body panels

A dry paint transfer process for making a deep draw molded plastic vehicular body panel having an exterior automotive quality paint coat on a contoured outer surface of the body panel, in which the paint coat on the contoured body panel has a glossy clear coat/color coat paint finish with a distinctness-of-image of at least about 60, which comprises:

• (a) coating an optically clear weatherable and hardenable thermoplastic and thermoformable polymeric clear coat material onto a smooth surface of a carrier comprising a flexible high temperature resistant polymeric casting sheet;
• (b) hardening the clear coat polymeric material to form a thermoplastic and thermoformable optically clear film having a first, exposed face and a second face contiguous with the smooth surface of the carrier;
• (c) applying to the first, exposed face of the clear film a pigmented color coat comprising a thermoplastic and thermoformable polymeric material with pigments distributed therein, and hardening the color coat to form on the carrier a clear coat/color coat paint film supported by the carrier;
• (d) transferring the clear coat/color coat paint film from the carrier by the steps of adhering a preformed continuous and self-supporting thermoformable resinous backing sheet to the color coat and separating the carrier from the composite of the backing sheet and the clear coat/color coat paint film to expose the second face of the clear coat as a glossy, smooth outer surface transferred from the surface of the carrier, the composite of the backing sheet and the clear coat/color coat paint film being thermoformable and having an unextended state and an elongated state in which the paint film is sufficiently pliable under the application of heat and pressure to stretch the clear coat/color coat paint film to conform the film to a contoured shape;
• (e) thermoforming the composite of the backing sheet and the clear coat/color coat paint film to form a deep draw three-dimensionally shaped paint-coated laminate which retains its contoured shape upon thermoforming and in which regions of the clear coat/color coat paint film on said finished vehicular body panel are subjected to elongation greater than about 50% of its unextended state while the paint-coated laminate retains said glossy, smooth outer surface;
• and
• (g) molding a resinous substrate material to the backing sheet to form a contoured finished vehicle body panel in which the paint-coated laminate forms a decorative clear coat/color coat paint finish on the outer surface of the finished body panel with the pigmented color coat layer visible through the outer clear coat, the backing sheet having sufficient thickness to absorb defects present in the resinous substrate material to produce an essentially defect-free outer surface on the finished body panel, the clear coat/color coat paint film providing a glossy, weatherable, defect-free exterior automotive quality paint coat with an instrument-measured distinctness-of-image value of 60 or greater on the outer surface of the finished body panel;
• in which the backing sheet comprises a polyolefin polymer and is bonded to the clear coat/color paint film by a chlorinated polyolefin adhesive, and in which the substrate material comprises a polyolefin polymer.