A roofing membrane converter supplying waterproofing systems for flat roofs required a lightweight aluminium foil facing layer for its bitumen and self-adhesive membrane lines. The facing foil has to reflect UV and solar heat, bond reliably to bitumen, and survive transport and jobsite handling without pinholes or creasing. After sampling several suppliers, the customer placed a trial order of 18 tons of 8011-O aluminium foil in 0.014mm thickness and 920mm width, matte outside and glossy inside.
- 0.014mm gauge — thin enough to keep membrane weight and cost down, thick enough to stay pinhole free through lamination and roll handling.
- 920mm width — matched to the customer's existing lamination line, so no slitting or edge trim was needed after delivery.
- Matte outside, glossy inside — the matte face gives the finished membrane a uniform, non-reflective surface that hides roller marks and looks clean on the roof, while the glossy face provides a smooth, high-contact surface for consistent adhesive and bitumen bonding.
- 8011-O temper — fully soft, so the foil conforms to the membrane surface without springback, cracking or orange peel during lamination.
- Roof waterproofing application — long outdoor exposure, so corrosion resistance, surface cleanliness and freedom from oil residue are critical.
- Black steel strip packing — the customer's warehouse handles coils by crane and forklift and re-ships to distributors, so the packing has to stay intact through stacking and multiple handling steps.
| Item | Specification |
|---|---|
| Alloy | 8011 |
| Temper | O (fully annealed) |
| Thickness | 0.014mm |
| Width | 920mm |
| Surface | Matte outside, glossy inside |
| Application | Roof waterproofing membrane facing |
| Core | Paper or aluminium core to customer request |
| Packing | Black steel strip banding, export wooden pallet |
| Quantity | 18 tons trial order |
| Delivery | 20 days after order confirmation |
Matte-glossy foil is not simply a single rolled surface with two names. The two faces are produced by pairing a roughened roll against a polished roll during the final pass. The matte face is deliberately textured to a controlled roughness (Ra around 0.35-0.55 micron), which diffuses light and removes the mirror effect that makes thin foil look wrinkled. The glossy face is rolled against the polished roll, giving the low surface roughness that lets bitumen wet out evenly and form a continuous bond line.
Every lot was checked for the two properties that mattered most: roughness on the matte face, and freedom from rolling oil residue on the glossy face, the most common cause of delamination in roof membranes.
The customer was explicit that packing had to be strong. Foil coils at 0.014mm are easily deformed by point loads, and a crushed coil edge means unusable material on the lamination line. The agreed packing was:
- Coil wrapped in protective film and interleaved paper to protect both surfaces
- Cardboard edge rings on both coil faces to prevent edge damage
- Black steel strip banding applied radially and circumferentially, tensioned evenly so the coil cannot telescope or open during handling
- Coils standing on an export-grade wooden pallet, strapped down as a single stable unit
- Outer wrapping against moisture, plus corner protection for container loading
- Marking on every unit with alloy, temper, thickness, width, weight and lot number
The black steel strip is the detail customers comment on. It does not stretch like plastic strap under a 1.5-ton coil and it holds tension in high humidity, so the coil arrives round and clean instead of oval and creased.
| Metric | Outcome |
|---|---|
| Trial order | 18 tons, 0.014mm x 920mm, 8011-O |
| Lamination line downtime from foil defects | No pinhole or crease related stoppage during the trial run |
| Bond quality on glossy side | Continuous bond line, no delamination found in peel testing |
| Coil condition on arrival | All coils received round, edges undamaged, packing intact |
| Repeat order | Customer moved to scheduled monthly shipments after the trial |
Three details made the difference. First, the width was matched to the customer's line so there was no slitting loss. Second, the surface finish was specified by face rather than by name, which removed the ambiguity that normally causes arguments about what "matte" means. Third, the packing was treated as part of the product: black steel strip banding plus edge rings costs a little more per coil, but it eliminated the damaged coils that used to be written off at the end of every shipment.
- Roof waterproofing membrane manufacturers (bitumen, SBS, APP, self-adhesive)
- Building envelope and insulation panel producers
- Foil-faced tape and HVAC insulation wrap converters
If you are laminating foil to a membrane, foam board or insulation facing, tell us the alloy, thickness, width, core size and which face must be matte. We will match the roughness and packing to your line.