Corona Treatment for Film: Explained

Masking films are excellent tools for covering a variety of surfaces in automotive body shops, from vehicles to flooring. But when searching for the right masking films that will save you the most time and money, you might notice that many of them have undergone something called corona treatment. While this is a fairly common feature to spot in the list of properties in masking films, it’s important to understand why it’s so popular and what it does.

In this guide, we’ll explain what corona treatment is and why it’s added to masking products in the automotive industry. And since we have such an excellent selection of corona treated masking films, we’ll also include some of our top product recommendations from our JTAPE range.

What is Corona Treatment?

When a material is described as being corona treated, this means that it has been treated with a high frequency corona discharge. This causes oxygen molecules to break down into an atomic form. These molecules can then bond to the molecule ends in the material you’re trying to change. As a result, the plastic or metal material is left with a chemically charged surface.

What does Corona Treatment do?

Corona treatment was invented to increase the surface tension of materials to improve their effectiveness. Typically, metal and plastic surfaces are pre-treated with corona to give them adhesive properties, but it can also improve moisture resistance.

This is because the chemically charged surface is left statically charged, meaning it can easily adhere to a variety of surfaces. This type of surface can also prevent paint and other liquids from penetrating underneath.

Why Corona Treatment is Important for Automotive Painting

Plastic materials like polyethylene can sometimes be difficult to work with because they typically have low surface energy. This means that they’re not originally designed to hold up well when used to mask off parts of the vehicle not involved in the body work being carried out, because they have low surface adhesion and might not offer the level of moisture resistance needed.

Since corona treatment changes the chemical structure of the plastic surface by increasing the surface energy, it benefits from improved adhesive properties and better moisture resistance. For this reason, it has become popular to add corona treatment to masking films. Those in the automotive industry can use these corona treated masking films to efficiently cover vehicles, equipment, walls and floors that aren’t involved in the painting or repair processes they deal with on a daily basis.

Corona treatment also prevents paint contamination which can be a problem when trying to complete automotive painting jobs to a high standard. This is mainly because the high surface energy can absorb the paint into the film rather than allowing it to seep into the surface below.

JTAPE Films with Corona Treatment

Here at JTAPE, we offer an excellent range of corona treated masking films, since this property is one of the most beneficial for body shop professionals. Find out more about some of our top corona treated masking films below.

Breathable Masking Film

Our 17-micron thick Breathable Masking Film can quickly and efficiently cover vehicles to protect them from paint overspray. The statically charged corona treated surface is breathable, which makes it ideal for working on damp vehicles and dealing with fresh paintwork in spray booths. With this film, you don’t need to worry about leftover residue or ghost markings, and you can instead focus on achieving the perfect finish.

Premium Clear Masking Film

JTAPE Premium Clear Masking Film is also an excellent product best suited to quickly covering all parts of a vehicle not involved in the painting process. The corona treated film is 9 microns thick, offers great temperature resistance up to 120°C and can effortlessly protect against paint flaking, chipping and contamination.

Pre-Folded Clear Masking Film

Our Pre-Folded Clear Masking Film benefits from corona treatment which allows paint to absorb into the surface and adhere efficiently to many surfaces. This high density corona treated polyethylene film is also highly puncture and tear resistant, meaning that it offers excellent durability throughout the masking process.

Wheel Repair Mask

When it comes to masking off alloys for repairs or painting, our Wheel Repair Mask is the best solution for the job. The corona treated film ensures paint is absorbed into the repair mask, which leaves you with the perfect finish every time. The JTAPE Wheel Repair Mask is also individually wrapped to prevent contamination and maintain a clean application free from any loose dirt or debris.

Looking for more masking film solutions? See all our JTAPE Masking Films.

Corona treatment is excellent for many automotive paint applications. Not only can it help paintwork professionals complete their jobs more efficiently, but it can also drastically improve the quality of the finished product for your customers. To learn more about best practices for masking using our tapes and films, check out our JTAPE blog.