Acrylic versus Polyurethane versus Melamine Furniture Front

In Australia design is typically one of the most important aspects when remodelling a kitchen. Quality of materials however is often overlooked or not paid enough attention. Yet, the furniture boards will be the soul – the true feel and touch – of the whole new kitchen set up for many years to come. It is the quality of the material that will decide if your white kitchen front doors will turn yellow in 5 years’ time from the ever-present Australian sun or if they scratch on the first contact with a kitchen utensil or a tray.

There is more choice today when it comes to the type and quality of surface materials for decorative doors. Polyurethane sprayed surfaces or melamine are no longer the only ways to go. In Europe, the trends in furniture design and quality joinery applications have pretty much settled on finished acrylic boards – smoother, more durable and robust alternative with better aesthetics. It is an easier, quicker and smarter solution.

Specialisation – the Key to Quality

Joiners are masters of woodwork (and as the word implies) they cut, join and put together furniture components making something special out of them. Like in any industry, they specialise. It’s their expertise. They do what they know best, they do what they’re good at. By the same token, those who create components for them specialise in what they do best. Assembling a specially engineered surface with a high quality core material is specialisation and art per se. And it is rather a complex technological process that is beyond means and resources of any small company. It produces a board with a much smoother surface resistant to scratches, UV damage, easier for removing smudges and fingerprints and more friendly in every-day maintenance.

What are the main differences between the polyurethane and acrylic furniture surface and why it does not pay off to compromise on quality?

Acrylic Furniture Surface

Acrylic surface is typically made of different levels of water-based urethane and rasin. The more urethane the manufacturer uses (combined with the right proportion of the resin of course) the more durable and scratch-resistant the surface material is. There are companies that specialise in this kind of manufacturing processes for furniture surfaces such as Senosan or Alfatherm. They know what they do and they do it best. They manufacture a thin film layer they sell to other specialised companies up the chain, such as Forner, who later apply them on their finished boards. Again, they know what they do and they do it best. The finished acrylic furniture boards consist of several layers:

• MDF

• acrylic film (plastic resistant to external factors)

• PVC film and

• waterproof PUR adhesive.

Their production is achieved by an advanced technological process in a large manufacturing facility.

In short, the acrylic film on a finished furniture board is like polyurethane but without any oils and solvents.

From the point of view of health, the water-based acrylic finishes contain lower amount of volatile organic compounds than oil-based polyurethane. Moreover, the finished acrylic furniture boards come ready-made from the factory and so there is hardly any health hazard at all. No spraying or lacquering required. Acrylic is also more environmentally friendly than polyurethane overall.

Polyurethane Furniture Surface

Polyurethane on the other hand is a formula that uses rasin containing drying oils and solvents. This material is more flexible and proved itself on floors where there is traffic as the wood expands and contracts. Applying polyurethane on furniture though has its clear drawbacks. Because it contains oil, it slowly turn yellow as it ages, unlike acrylic that is white and stays white. This really does make a difference in countries like Australia where sun is getting in the household for a most of the year and UV lighting constantly tests the furniture’s fronts.

Polyurethane doors come from a cheap, well established industry but dated manufacturing process that is simpler, applies fewer protective layers in the surface itself and is achievable in a small paint shop. If damaged or chipped, polyurethane cannot be fixed at home unlike acrylic that you can smooth out by an iron with a piece of cloth.

Melamine Furniture Surface

Another popular type of a furniture decorative surface is melamine. This technological process comes from the 1950’s and is still very wide-spread mainly to its price. Sheets of melamine resin mixed with formaldehyde are attached to MDF or particle board (chipboard). They come in a rich variety of patterns that often imitate wood. There is high-end and low end melamine board. The high-end manufacturers make the surface more durable by applying multiple layers. Cleaf is a an example of an excellent quality high-end manufacturer of this kind of surface. Multiple layers however increase production costs and there is no true high-end melamine manufacturer in Australia today.

The bulk of the decorative furniture board market in Australia is low-end. Landlords for example like to use melamine to save on renovations in rental properties. Many will sell their property in less than 7 years which should be a standard warranty time for good furniture products. It will become somebody else’s worry then. Many other people buy it because it looks great for what it costs but they often regret it later. Cheap melamine furniture does not withstand the test of time. Scratches, discoloration, water damage are more common and there is little long-term value. It is much harder to come by good quality kitchen fronts in Australia than it is in Europe.

When new – it’s hard to tell acrylic from melamine. However, a simple test with a rough kitchen sponge (which perfectly simulates contact with nails after some time) reveals a huge difference.

What are the Trends

Acrylic surfaces are relatively new to the market and quite new to Australia. Polyurethane and melamine have been around for years and many joinery companies cannot imagine life without them. There is however a growing number of those who innovate, listen to designers and clients and later find that the more advanced acrylic technology makes their lives easier in time and overhead.

Forner can supply acrylic furniture boards with matching edging to customers around Australia. The standard size is 2440 x 1220 x 18 mm (2805 x 1305 x 18 mm also available). They can be used for structural applications because as they are 18 mm in thickness. The surfaces are available in a number of solid colours in super matt and ultra gloss finishes.

The colour availability of Forner acrylic furniture boards in Australia >>>