Patent ID: 7462308

Claim:
A method of producing an article having a controllable and realistic wood-grain appearance with at least one accent color, the method comprising the steps of: a) introducing into an extruder a powdered or pelletized base material and accent color pellets, said base material comprising a first polymer and wood flour, and having a vicat softening temperature, said accent color pellets (i) having a higher vicat softening temperature than said base material, and (ii) comprising a second polymer having a high vicat softening temperature and a melt flow index of greater than or equal to 1.0 gram per 10 minutes, and at least one additional resin having a substantially lower vicat softening temperature than the second polymer; and b) extruding said base material and said accent color pellets through an extrusion die to form the article under processing temperatures whereby the accent color pellets cause delayed introduction and controlled dispersion of the accent color into the base material.