FabDigitFabDigit

Soft-Touch Coating

Coatings for plastics · Spray applied

Soft-touch coating is a flexible polyurethane-class finish that gives rigid plastic a warm, rubber-like tactile feel and improved grip.

Injection molding3D printingPremium cost $$$Insulating
Quote a part with Soft-touchCompare coatings for plastics
Soft-Touch Coating on a machined part

What is Soft-touch?

It is specified on handheld controls, cosmetic packaging, and consumer housings.

How it works

The molded or printed polymer is cleaned of mold release, dust, and skin oils, then activated or primed when its surface energy is too low. A flexible clear or pigmented coating is sprayed and cured into a compliant film. The soft feel comes from resin formulation and surface friction rather than a thick rubber layer. Humidity, skin oils, ultraviolet exposure, plasticizer migration, and incomplete cure can cause tackiness or loss of adhesion over time.

Why specify it

  • Typical film is 20–40 µm
  • Creates a premium rubber-like hand feel
  • Improves dry grip without changing the molded tool
  • Can carry color or remain clear over a basecoat

Where it falls short

  • Some formulations become sticky after heat, humidity, or skin-oil aging
  • Edges and high-touch corners polish or wear first
  • Low-surface-energy plastics need activation or primer
  • Coating reduces crispness of fine texture and legends

Soft-touch at a glance

Soft-touch is strongest on cosmetic quality (85 of 100), at a premium cost. It adds little surface hardness or lubricity.

Corrosion protectionLow20 / 100
Surface hardnessMinimal5 / 100
Cosmetic qualityExcellent85 / 100
LubricityMinimal5 / 100
Relative costPremium40 / 100
CorrosionHardnessCosmeticLubricityEconomy

Each score is 0–100 against every finish in this catalog. Corrosion comes from salt-spray life (ASTM B117, log scale) and hardness from the finish layer's Vickers or pencil hardness; cosmetic, lubricity and cost are FabDigit's engineering assessment. Economy on the radar is the inverse of cost.

Soft-touch key numbers

Typical values from the governing specifications and shop practice; bars are this finish against the highest value among coatings for plastics finishes.

Thickness20–40 µm0.79–1.6 mil
Thickness
20–40 µm for a sprayed polyurethane-class soft-touch film
Hardness
B–HB pencil hardness (ASTM D3363) — soft by design — a tactile elastomeric film
Electrical
Insulating
Colours
  • clear
  • black
  • custom color
Appearance
Matte to satin, visually subdued, with a warm rubber-like tactile response.

Where Soft-touch sits among all finishes

Surface hardness (Vickers, log scale) against corrosion protection (salt-spray hours, log scale) for every coating FabDigit offers, one cloud per finish group. Soft-touch is highlighted; hover a dot for its name or open the full map.

02550751000255075100Corrosion protection (0–100)Surface hardness (HV, log scale, 0–100)Plating — 19 finishesHard coatings — 17 finishesAnodize & conversion — 8 finishesPaint & powder — 7 finisheshard, low corrosion protectionhard and protectiveprotective, softsoft, little protectionType II anodize — corrosion 71, hardness 54BSA anodize — corrosion 71, hardness 52Type I anodize — corrosion 71, hardness 49Hard anodize — corrosion 71, hardness 61PTFE hard anodize — corrosion 71, hardness 61Nitriding — corrosion 55, hardness 73PEO — corrosion 70, hardness 74Sherardizing — corrosion 83, hardness 56Brass plate — corrosion 35, hardness 44Bronze plate — corrosion 40, hardness 49Cadmium plate — corrosion 70, hardness 26Copper plate — corrosion 32, hardness 39Decorative chrome — corrosion 64, hardness 71Electroless copper — corrosion 20, hardness 41Electroless nickel — corrosion 70, hardness 68Nickel plate — corrosion 51, hardness 55Gold plate — corrosion 68, hardness 39Hard chrome — corrosion 40, hardness 73Hot-dip zinc — corrosion 90, hardness 42Nickel-PTFE — corrosion 72, hardness 57Silver plate — corrosion 55, hardness 39Solder plate — corrosion 42, hardness 9Tin plate — corrosion 34, hardness 0Zinc plate — corrosion 60, hardness 30Zinc-nickel — corrosion 86, hardness 60Cerakote — corrosion 83, hardness 27E-coat — corrosion 83, hardness 15Epoxy coat — corrosion 83, hardness 15Powder coat — corrosion 83, hardness 14Wet paint — corrosion 59, hardness 10AlCrN PVD — corrosion 58, hardness 93AlTiN PVD — corrosion 52, hardness 94CrN PVD — corrosion 62, hardness 83DLC — corrosion 55, hardness 93MoS2 PVD — corrosion 20, hardness 26TiAlN PVD — corrosion 50, hardness 93TiCN PVD — corrosion 40, hardness 92TiB2 PVD — corrosion 40, hardness 94TiN PVD — corrosion 45, hardness 87WC/C PVD — corrosion 48, hardness 77ZrN PVD — corrosion 52, hardness 90CVD alumina — corrosion 70, hardness 85CVD TiCN — corrosion 38, hardness 92CVD TiN — corrosion 45, hardness 87Multilayer CVD — corrosion 62, hardness 88HVOF coating — corrosion 78, hardness 77Plasma spray — corrosion 60, hardness 68Plastic chrome — corrosion 72, hardness 71Electroless plastic — corrosion 58, hardness 39Clear coat — corrosion 20, hardness 12PLATINGHARD COATINGSANODIZE & CONVERSIONPAINT & POWDERWet paintType II anodizePowder coatZinc plateZinc-nickelHard chromeDLCTiN PVDTin plateCadmium plateE-coatCerakoteHot-dip zincNitridingHVOF coatingSoft-touch — corrosion 20, hardness 5Soft-touch
02550751000255075100Corrosion protection (0–100)Surface hardness (HV, log scale, 0–100)Plating — 19 finishesHard coatings — 17 finishesAnodize & conversion — 8 finishesPaint & powder — 7 finishesType II anodize — corrosion 71, hardness 54BSA anodize — corrosion 71, hardness 52Type I anodize — corrosion 71, hardness 49Hard anodize — corrosion 71, hardness 61PTFE hard anodize — corrosion 71, hardness 61Nitriding — corrosion 55, hardness 73PEO — corrosion 70, hardness 74Sherardizing — corrosion 83, hardness 56Brass plate — corrosion 35, hardness 44Bronze plate — corrosion 40, hardness 49Cadmium plate — corrosion 70, hardness 26Copper plate — corrosion 32, hardness 39Decorative chrome — corrosion 64, hardness 71Electroless copper — corrosion 20, hardness 41Electroless nickel — corrosion 70, hardness 68Nickel plate — corrosion 51, hardness 55Gold plate — corrosion 68, hardness 39Hard chrome — corrosion 40, hardness 73Hot-dip zinc — corrosion 90, hardness 42Nickel-PTFE — corrosion 72, hardness 57Silver plate — corrosion 55, hardness 39Solder plate — corrosion 42, hardness 9Tin plate — corrosion 34, hardness 0Zinc plate — corrosion 60, hardness 30Zinc-nickel — corrosion 86, hardness 60Cerakote — corrosion 83, hardness 27E-coat — corrosion 83, hardness 15Epoxy coat — corrosion 83, hardness 15Powder coat — corrosion 83, hardness 14Wet paint — corrosion 59, hardness 10AlCrN PVD — corrosion 58, hardness 93AlTiN PVD — corrosion 52, hardness 94CrN PVD — corrosion 62, hardness 83DLC — corrosion 55, hardness 93MoS2 PVD — corrosion 20, hardness 26TiAlN PVD — corrosion 50, hardness 93TiCN PVD — corrosion 40, hardness 92TiB2 PVD — corrosion 40, hardness 94TiN PVD — corrosion 45, hardness 87WC/C PVD — corrosion 48, hardness 77ZrN PVD — corrosion 52, hardness 90CVD alumina — corrosion 70, hardness 85CVD TiCN — corrosion 38, hardness 92CVD TiN — corrosion 45, hardness 87Multilayer CVD — corrosion 62, hardness 88HVOF coating — corrosion 78, hardness 77Plasma spray — corrosion 60, hardness 68Plastic chrome — corrosion 72, hardness 71Electroless plastic — corrosion 58, hardness 39Clear coat — corrosion 20, hardness 12PLATINGHARD COATINGSANODIZE & CONVERSIONPAINT & POWDERWet paintZinc plateSoft-touch — corrosion 20, hardness 5Soft-touch
Anodize & conversionPlatingPaint & powderHard coatings

Specifications for Soft-touch

The documents a drawing cites to define this finish, with the Type / Class rows that apply. Each links to a page explaining the standard.

Drawing call-out

SOFT-TOUCH 2K POLYURETHANE COATING, BLACK, 20–40 µm DFT, MATTE; MASK SNAP FEATURES, THREADS, DISPLAY WINDOW, AND ADHESIVE BOND AREAS

Which materials take Soft-touch?

Verdict per material family, with the grades that behave differently. Each family links to its datasheets in the material library.

Material familyVerdictNotes
Polymer
YesCompatibility and pretreatment depend on resin chemistry.
  • ABS and PC/ABS are common candidates
  • PP and PE usually need activation and adhesion promoter
Aluminum
With carePossible over primer for hand-feel on metal housings; edges wear first.
Brass
With careClean tarnish and qualify adhesion.
Composite
With careSeal porosity and validate adhesion to the matrix.
Copper Alloy
With careClean tarnish and qualify adhesion; some solvents stain copper.
FDM
With careNeeds a sealed, sanded print; texture telegraphing is likely.
Magnesium Alloy
With careNeeds conversion coating or primer before an organic film.
MJF
With careClean, seal, and validate color uniformity.
SLA
With careFully post-cure and prime; residual resin can disrupt cure.
SLS
With carePorous nylon normally needs sealing before cosmetic coating.
Stainless Steel
With careNeeds mechanical or chemical activation for adhesion.
Steel
With carePossible over primer; not a corrosion system by itself.
Titanium
With careNeeds activation or primer for organic films.
Zinc Alloy
With careNeeds conversion coating or primer; some solvents attack zinc.
DMLS / SLM
NoSoft-touch films are not specified on metal AM parts.

How Soft-touch is applied, and what it does to the part

  1. 1Clean and remove mold release
  2. 2Activate or prime if required
  3. 3Mask
  4. 4Spray
  5. 5Flash
  6. 6Cure
  7. 7Condition
  8. 8Inspect feel, adhesion, and appearance
DimensionsAllow 20–40 µm on snaps and mating surfaces; coating at parting lines and sharp corners is vulnerable to peel.
Build-up per side20–40 µm — Adds the cured film thickness to each coated surface.
MaskingUsually needed. Mask snaps, threads, keying surfaces, optical windows, electrical contacts, and glue areas.
ElectricalInsulating
AppearanceMatte to satin, visually subdued, with a warm rubber-like tactile response.
Added lead time3–7 working days on top of the bare part

Design rules for Soft-touch

What to decide on the drawing before the part goes to the finisher.

  1. Require heat-humidity and skin-oil aging on the production resin.Soft-touch failure often appears as delayed tackiness.
  2. Keep the coating edge away from the highest-wear corner.A feather edge invites peeling.
  3. Specify mold-release control.Silicone contamination can defeat adhesion.
  4. Mask snap and adhesive interfaces.The compliant 20–40 µm film changes fit and weakens structural bonding.

Soft-touch versus the alternatives

Finishes engineers weigh against Soft-touch, and when each wins.

FinishCorrosionHardnessCosmeticCostThicknessChoose it when
Soft-touch
this page
20585$$$20–40 µm—
Rubberized Dip Coating
Soft-touch vs Rubberized Dip Coating →
45—55$$250–2,000 µmwhen a much thicker resilient grip is acceptable
Wet Painting
Soft-touch vs Wet Painting →
591090$$20–80 µmwhen color is needed without a rubber-like feel
CorrosionHardnessCosmeticLubricityEconomy
Soft-touchRubberized Dip Coating

The radar overlays Soft-touch with Rubberized Dip Coating, its most common alternative — chosen when a much thicker resilient grip is acceptable. Scores in the table are 0–100 across every finish in the catalog.

Cost, lead time and compliance

Relative cost

Soft-Touch Coating is a premium-cost finish ($$$): cheaper than about 55 % of the finishes FabDigit quotes.

Finishing is priced per part with a lot minimum, from FabDigit's own China-side rates. The exact figure appears on the instant quote once the part is uploaded.

Lead time and compliance

Added lead time3–7 working days
RoHSCompliant
NotesConfirm formulation, solvent emissions, and restricted substances for the exact color and supplier.

What Soft-touch is used for

  • Power-tool handles
  • Remote controls
  • Automotive knobs
  • Cosmetic packaging
  • Handheld instruments

Soft-touch — frequently asked

what is soft touch coating

It is usually a flexible polyurethane-class sprayed film that makes rigid plastic feel rubber-like. A typical dry film is 20–40 µm.

why does soft touch coating get sticky

Heat, humidity, skin oils, plasticizer migration, ultraviolet exposure, or incomplete cure can degrade some formulations. Production validation should include accelerated aging on the actual molded resin.

how thick is soft touch coating

A common target is 20–40 µm dry-film thickness. Even that thin film can alter snap fits and soften fine molded texture.

can soft touch coating be applied to ABS

Yes, ABS is a common candidate after complete removal of mold release and selection of compatible primer and solvent. Adhesion and chemical stress cracking still require validation on the exact grade.

soft touch coating vs rubber overmolding

Soft-touch coating is only about 20–40 µm and preserves part geometry, while elastomer overmolding is a structural layer measured in millimeters. Overmolding is generally more durable but requires compatible tooling and materials.