Data reference

Reference · Nº 01

Surface energy (dyne levels) of common label surfaces

The ~40 dyne/cm line divides easy-to-stick from hard-to-stick surfaces. Metal and glass sit high — aluminium ~840, glass 200–300 dyne/cm — so almost any adhesive bonds. Common bottle plastics sit low: PVC 39, PET 36, HDPE 31, polypropylene 29, PTFE 18. Below ~36 dyne/cm a standard pressure-sensitive adhesive barely wets the surface, so labels lift — the usual reason a sticker peels off an HDPE bottle.

Surface	Surface energy (dyne/cm)	Sticks with standard adhesive?
Aluminium	~840	Yes — easy
Glass	200–300	Yes — easy
PVC (vinyl)	39	Borderline
PET (polyester)	36	Borderline
HDPE	31	No — low surface energy
Polypropylene (PP)	29	No — low surface energy
PTFE	18	No — very hard to bond

Aluminium

Surface energy (dyne/cm): ~840
Sticks with standard adhesive?: Yes — easy

Glass

Surface energy (dyne/cm): 200–300
Sticks with standard adhesive?: Yes — easy

PVC (vinyl)

Surface energy (dyne/cm): 39
Sticks with standard adhesive?: Borderline

PET (polyester)

Surface energy (dyne/cm): 36
Sticks with standard adhesive?: Borderline

HDPE

Surface energy (dyne/cm): 31
Sticks with standard adhesive?: No — low surface energy

Polypropylene (PP)

Surface energy (dyne/cm): 29
Sticks with standard adhesive?: No — low surface energy

PTFE

Surface energy (dyne/cm): 18
Sticks with standard adhesive?: No — very hard to bond

Typical published surface-energy values for clean surfaces. Actual dyne level varies with additives, mould-release residue and treatment — test your exact substrate.

How to read it

→About 40 dyne/cm divides low- from high-energy surfaces. Below ~36, standard adhesives barely wet the surface and labels lift.
→Fixes for low-surface-energy plastics: a low-surface-energy (LSE) high-tack adhesive; corona or plasma treatment (raises the surface to ~44–50 dyne/cm); a primer/adhesion promoter; or more application pressure.
→Recycled or unknown plastics have unstable surface energy and need per-batch testing.

Common questions

What is the surface energy of HDPE and polypropylene?

HDPE is about 31 dyne/cm and polypropylene about 29 dyne/cm — both below the ~36 threshold a standard adhesive needs, which is why labels lift off them without a low-surface-energy adhesive.

What surface energy do you need for a label to stick?

Roughly 40 dyne/cm or above lets a standard adhesive wet and bond well. Below ~36 you need a low-surface-energy (LSE) high-tack adhesive, or you can corona/plasma-treat the surface to raise it to ~44–50 dyne/cm.

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