Bozzy,
On the 0.5mm vs 1mm question, the glue line is not necessarily thinner in a measured sense. It often looks thinner because 0.5mm PVC is more flexible and follows the panel edge with less spring-back. With 1mm tape, any small panel-edge chip, saw mark, pressure variation, or excess glue shows as a more visible shadow line on a high-gloss surface.
For gray high-gloss HPL, I would test four things before committing the whole job:
1. Use the exact door material and edge tape, then cut samples after 24 hours. PUR may look much cleaner, but it needs cure time before judging the bond.
2. Check pressure and panel edge quality. A very small hollow at the glue line can look like a dark line even if the glue color is correct.
3. Run the lowest glue amount that still passes a peel test. If the tape is falling off, the issue may be wetting/pressure/primer rather than just glue quantity.
4. Test natural/neutral PUR or PO against gray-tinted adhesive. Custom tinted glue can help visually, but pigment can change viscosity, melt behavior, pot cleanliness, and long-term stability, so I would only use it after supplier testing.
PUR can make the line much less visible, but it will not hide a rough panel edge or a tape/back-primer mismatch. On high gloss gray, the best result usually comes from a clean milled edge, matching tape color/backing, correct pressure, and a thin consistent adhesive film rather than color alone.
Daniel Ni
Hangzhou Jinyou New Material Technology Co., Ltd.
PVC edge banding / EVA & PUR hot melt adhesive / PVC board materials