Soft wall panels: characteristics and tips for installation and maintenance

Recommendation points

• Structure and composition
• Wall panel quality
• Appearance of soft panels
• Combined properties
• Features of installation and maintenance
• Price for soft wall panels

What are soft wall panels and what are their varieties? What are their advantages and why are they called 3D panels? How much does it cost to decorate a room with soft panels? You can find a description of the new finishing material in our article. We will also tell you about their production technology and appearance..

A new material for decoration – soft wall panels, is finding more and more admirers among renovators, furniture makers and designers.

Every modern material leaving the workshop must meet the requirements of operating standards. The second aspect is the consumer qualities of the goods – an adequate price, the possibility of storage, transportation and production. Let’s consider how soft wall panels will cope with these tasks and pay attention to their disadvantages.

Structure and composition

Soft wall panels (hereinafter – panels) are also called 3D panels due to their volumetric structure. In section, they look like this:

1. The first layer is the substrate. Base 5–8 mm made of PVC sheet, quite strong and adheres to any adhesives.
2. The second layer is filling. Cured polyurethane foam, a modernized analogue of the usual polyurethane foam.
3. The third layer is the finishing material. We consider panels for interior work, therefore, the finishing layer is decorative, with an interesting appearance..

Wall panel quality

PVC base is a material that is made at large enterprises; panel manufacturers simply buy it. This is a standard product such as rebar or plywood.

Volumetric panels are produced using a simple and well-mastered technology, which is quite difficult to make a mistake. Even in artisan workshops, high-tech machines are used to feed raw materials – liquid polyurethane foam (LFR). The raw materials themselves are produced only by European firms with a high level of quality control. Therefore, PPR in a panel produced in a small private workshop in your city will not be inferior in quality to the originals, which are three times more expensive..

How to produce PU foam products, see the video

The decorative coating is usually applied using the so-called eco-leather – a vinyl material with heat shrink properties. It is laid on a panel and “baked”. In another case, the front part of the panel is painted with acrylic compounds, creating a layer of up to 1 mm.

Appearance of soft panels

Mass production of molds and equipment for PU foam products provides a wide range of finished products. A self-respecting company will rarely offer less than 150 types of 3D panels, while any of them can be made to order, choosing the desired shade, element size, proportions and decorative elements.

The most far-sighted manufacturers do not buy the molds themselves, but the equipment for making the molds. This approach gives unlimited possibilities in interior design. The customer can receive 3D elements with the company logo or family coat of arms.

The most common option is an imitation of the chic upholstery of an old antique interior, where the walls were combined with furniture and sometimes were finished with the same material – leather, fabric, rare wood. In the modern world, transferring valuable resources of flora and fauna is no longer considered quite decent, and not even prestigious. But the beauty of the antique finish is undeniable, so recreating a 100% copy of the appearance that hardly anyone will touch with their hands is relevant and in demand. Gilded wood carvings, patent leather, thick velvet folds, silk upholstery – all this can be done from soft wall panels.

Of course, 3D elements can be used in any of the known directions. The shapes of panels, tiles and elements are limited only by imagination.

Combined properties

Polyurethane foam was originally famous for its heat and sound insulating properties. Then people paid attention to its ability to adhesion – to firmly eat into any dry porous material. Finally, its rigidity and lightness made it the leader in raw materials and prefabricated components..

Since the panels are 80% made of polyurethane foam, they were given its positive qualities:

1. Additional thermal insulation of the room.
2. The ability not only to absorb noise from adjacent rooms, but also to extinguish the sound inside. This is a remarkable property that noise isolators hidden under the drywall do not have. GCR reflects sound back into the room.
3. Non-flammable and non-toxic material. This property does not depend on the manufacturer – the raw material itself is safe.

The panels do not cause problems during storage or transportation due to their low weight. They are also not afraid of moisture and prolonged overheating. PPU does not rot and does not decompose. The advantages can be safely attributed to the ease and accuracy of processing and installation..

Features of installation and maintenance

As mentioned above, the adhesion of the PVC backing allows you to use almost any type of adhesive. The advantage in this case is given to latex or universal (mounting) glue.

For installation work, you will need a minimum of tools, which are most often found in the home (apartment) pantry: a retractable knife, a steel ruler, a level, a tape measure, sandpaper, a brush, buttons. From materials you only need glue, primer, putty / sealant and paints.

Operating procedure:

1. Withstand the panels for 5 days in the room where they will need to be mounted.
2. Prepare the surface for mounting.

Attention! If the wall is made of gypsum plasterboard, you do not need to putty or prime it with penetrating compounds.

3. Mark the wall. If possible, install rigid beacons to accurately withstand vertical or horizontal.
4. Apply a thin layer of adhesive to the wall with a roller.
5. Apply a thin layer of adhesive with a roller to the contact surfaces of the panel.
6. Mount the panel to the wall applying force over the entire plane. Use a rubber roller for rolling joints.
7. If the panel has no color or pattern, apply a primer to the front surface.
8. Fill joints with non-shrinking putty or acrylic joint sealant.
9. Clean seams from putty residues.
10. Paint a wall with panels with a brush, roller or spray gun.
11. If the panel is fully finished, skip steps 6 and 9.

Installation of panels – step by step video

In everyday life, soft panels are extremely unpretentious – their maintenance is reduced to removing dust. The service life of the coating is from 30 years, while they do not fade or fade. The only thing they are really afraid of is contact with solid objects. Accidentally hitting a corner of furniture can damage the panel. Recovery will require specialist services.

Prices for related products

Name	Manufacturer	Volume	Price, cu e. / unit.
Assembly adhesive
“Crazy Velcro”	LACRYSIL, Ukraine	1 kg	6.30
88-Luxe	“ROGNEDA”, Russia	0.9 kg 4.5 kg 20 kg	5.50 25.50 125
“KS-Glue”	KrasKo, Russia	4 kg	15
Paint
MIRANOL	TIKKURILA, Finland	1 kg	15.50 / kg
Parade W2	Parade, Russia	20 kg	11.50 / kg
“Luxorit”	“Luxorit”, Russia	five	8.50 / kg
Acrylic sealant
ACRYL	Kiilto, Finland	330 ml	4.50 / pc.
SOUDAL	SOUDAL, Russia	330 ml	2.80 / pc.
MAKROFLEX FX130	MAKROFLEX, Germany	290 ml	3.20 / pc.

Price for soft wall panels

With the development of industry, materials began to be produced using simpler technologies, moreover, everyone now has the opportunity to purchase the necessary equipment. Therefore, new does not mean expensive, but rather the opposite..

The cost of the base is generally negligible compared to the price of the finishing layer. PPU tiles are pasted over not only with artificial, but also natural leather, creating interesting panels. The production of these products abroad and transportation are unprofitable against the background of the availability of shop equipment on site. Such productions work to order, and the price of panels for them starts from $ 15. eat². Prices for other parts and volumes are calculated on a case-by-case basis.

The ability to create volumetric elements gives unlimited design potential. At the same time, materials are becoming lighter and simpler, cheaper and more diverse. The increasingly popular 3D panels are an excellent confirmation of this and a great way to recreate an old interior without the use of rare and valuable materials..