Melamine is a popular plastic material used in modern home cabinetry. It is very durable and has a wide variety of hue and pattern possibilities. Melamine fused with plywood is also the most sustainable option for cabinetry.
Although different enough to be considered a separate option, Melamine is technically a laminate product. Just like Laminate, Melamine is made using paper and resin, but the Melamine costs less to produce. Also just like Laminate, the melamine surfaces have lower quality and higher quality products.
Pro: Inexpensive
When comparing melamine to solid wood style cabinets, melamine offers a less expensive option. This leads to savings with your renovations or installations, making your budget seem bigger.
Wood is susceptible to warping, moisture and other conditions, so it may not be the best choice for basements or garages. The high quality melamine that Crooked Oak uses is not likely to warp. It is also generally more durable in less-than-ideal environments. Melamine also works well for adjustable shelves.
The right paint and brushes help you get successful results when you paint melamine, thermofoil and laminate surfaces. Lots of paints work well on these materials, including high-quality latex, acrylic and chalk paints, but most of them require priming.
Melamine is cheaper than laminate as it is manufactured by a method which is not cost intensive. Laminate is more durable than melamine and more resistant to heat and chemicals. Melamine is produced with a pressure of just 300-500psi while to make a laminate a pressure of 1400psi is required.
Price. Made of pressed wood, MD, or plywood topped by a layer of paper coloured with a heat-fused melamine resin, melamine is the least expensive cabinet material.
Melamine is one of the most durable cabinet materials on the market today, noted for its strong resistance to excessive moisture, heat, and stains. Since the resin-filled paper is permanently fused to the particleboard substrate, melamine will not peel away.
Melamine dinnerware has a price range from $3.60 to about $13.00 per plate.
Melamine offers a smooth, uniform surface that is very durable, moisture resistant, and easy to clean. The lack of wood grain is actually preferred by many people who want solid colored cabinets, and melamine can come prefinished in a variety of colors.
IKEA cabinet boxes are made of fiberboard and melamine foil. Cabinet doors and drawer fronts are made of fiberboard. They are covered in melamine foil, paint, wood, or glass.
What is Melamine Furniture? Melamine furniture is constructed from a manufactured-wood substrate, like MDF (medium density fiberboard) or plywood, that has been covered in melamine laminate. The melamine resin gives these otherwise lower-quality materials a very durable and attractive finish!
While plastic laminate costs a bit more than melamine, it is more resistant to moisture, chemicals, heat and force.
Melamine doors are highly durable and easy to clean, what make them a great choice for budget-conscious homeowners. Melamine cabinets are resistant to many of the common issues in a kitchen, whether it is excessive moisture, heat or stains. Melamine cabinets can be manufactured to simulate the look of wood.
You can tell them apart by the following:
They don't peel off as easily. Melamine is thinner than Laminate, though they are made of the same plastic.
Retailers usually carry melamine in white, almond, gray, black, and beige. If a store doesn't have a specific solid color of melamine in stock, ask if they can order it for you.
The manufacturer typically bonds a decorative paper to the material underneath through a heated manufacturing process. The result is a plastic-like building material that looks like wood grain or other color or texture, depending on the look of the decorative paper used.
Melamine when installed correctly is a long lasting, inexpensive, and durable option. While melamine is waterproof if it is installed poorly water may get into the inner wood, causing the melamine to warp.
The best way to do it is to use a heat gun to soften the adhesive and pull the laminate off in sections, starting with the edging. Some MDF cabinets have a plastic coating, and removing a plastic coating from kitchen cabinets is usually easier than removing a wood laminate.
Acrylic-Type Paints. When refinishing laminate or melamine counters, instead of paint, consider an all-in-one countertop resurfacing system, such as Rust-Oleum's Countertop Transformations.
Some of the pros and cons to using prefinished maple plywood: A pro is that plywood is a little bit stronger than melamine, it is also lighter than melamine. The screw holding strength is about equal to both melamine and plywood with plywood being slightly stronger.
Melamine is a low-pressure laminate (LPL) because it is made with a pressure of 300-500 pounds-per-square-inch.
Melamine boards are very cost effective and used in making furniture , cabinets as they are scratch resistant , heat and termite resistant.