Patent ID: 8276978

Claim:
A panel substrate for an interior finish panel of a vehicle comprising a base portion, an inclined portion, an upper sealing surface, and a lower sealing surface, wherein: the upper sealing surface and the lower sealing surface are non-coplanar; the inclined portion is disposed between the base portion and the lower sealing surface forming a graded transition between the base portion and the lower sealing surface such that the lower sealing surface and the base portion are non-coplanar; and the inclined portion and the lower sealing surface form a vertex where the inclined portion and the lower sealing surface intersect wherein, when a skin layer comprising an upper skin and a lower skin is disposed over the panel substrate, the skin layer is sealed to the vertex, the upper skin and the lower skin are sealed to the upper sealing surface, one of the upper skin or the lower skin is sealed to the lower sealing surface and, when a foam layer is disposed between the skin layer and the panel substrate, the foam layer tapers between the base portion and the vertex.