Embossed glass/plastic laminate

DETAILED DESCRIPTION I have discovered that a decorative relief pattern can be obtained on a glass/plastic laminate by placing a texturing medium on the surface of a cured polysiloxane coating which has been applied to the surface of a plastic film which is adhesively secured to a sheet of glass.
The composite is autoclaved under vacuum and pressure to transfer the pattern to the coated surface of the laminate.
The texturing medium may be selected from readily available materials such as paper, metal mesh, cloth fabric, leaves or other natural materials which can be readily removed from the surface of the laminate after removal from the autoclave leaving behind a detailed pattern on the coated surface.
Unlike other texture transferring methods, the texturing medium is independent of an embossing roller, die or cover plate.
It is essential that the plastic film be coated with a polysiloxane abrasion resistant coating and that the coating be cured prior to autoclaving.
This is indeed surprising in view of the fact that polysiloxane coatings are conventionally used to protect a plastic surface from abrasions and prevent distortions in the surface.
Mold releases commonly utilized for injection molding are not necessary since the polysiloxane coating acts as a tack-free surface for embossing.
The process is non-destructive and in most cases the texturing medium may be used to prepare additional decorated laminates.