Surface Contamination Issues and Solutions for Reflective Materials

Why Do Reflective Materials Tend to Show Stains, Grease, and Sweat Marks After Use?

During the production of garments and footwear, many manufacturers have reported that reflective materials tend to show surface stains, grease marks, sweat smudges, or dust—especially in high-temperature and high-humidity environments. These issues are not defects of the material itself but are caused by post-processing and environmental factors.

Main Causes of Reflective Material Surface Contamination:

- Processing or storage under high temperature and humidity conditions;

- Contact with sweat, saltwater, nitrogen-based compounds, strong acids/alkalis, or sulfur-containing substances;

- Handling without gloves, allowing sewing machine oil or dust to adhere to the surface;

- Inadequate packaging or lack of desiccants during transportation and storage.

Mechanism of Contamination:

The surface of reflective materials is typically composed of aluminum-coated glass beads. When these beads are exposed to corrosive substances, the aluminum layer between them may deteriorate, leading to darkened areas or blotchy marks. Please note: these stains are mostly aesthetic and do not affect reflective performance.

Tests show that most contamination does not penetrate the back side of the glass beads, so the reflective brightness remains compliant.

How to Prevent Contamination?

To maintain the visual quality of your products, we recommend the following precautions when processing and using silver reflective materials:

✅ Environmental Control: Ensure dry and ventilated conditions; use air conditioning or dehumidifiers as needed

✅ Wear Gloves: Operators must wear gloves to avoid direct hand contact with the reflective surface

✅ Avoid Grease and Oil: Keep sewing machine oil or chemicals away from reflective surfaces

✅ Proper Packaging and Storage: Use sealed bags with desiccants during storage and transport

Solutions for Challenging Environments

For products used in hot, humid, or sweat-prone industrial settings, we recommend using high-durability series such as:

B2067, B2007, B1007, B1007N

These products are engineered with enhanced resistance to environmental contaminants and are ideal for tough conditions.

If you are working in specific environments or applications, please feel free to contact our technical team. We are happy to provide more tailored and professional material solutions.