I’m looking for a solid, plywood-like engineered material that is colored throughout. I read about it in either FW or FH but can’t seem to find the article. I plan to use it for some unusually shaped countertops in a kitchen. It would cut and rout like wood, but it is water and stain resistant, comes in a variety of colors, and is uniform throughout.
I’ve looked at Richlite, but it’s very expensive. Does anyone know of another product like that?
Thanks.
Replies
It sounds like you're looking for a solid surface material that has a wood "look" to it. I haven't seen any but I'm sure that someone makes it. And, I'm sure it will be expensive since I've never seen any solid surface material that wasn't. - lol
andy,
I think the stuff reviewed in Fine Homebuilding was through color MDF. It is made by BASF industries. Is this what you are looking for?
http://www.basf.com/specialty_colorants/bcsclrantsmdf.html
http://www.basf.com/corporate/news2005/011205_mdf.htm
J.P.
Thanks J.P. That's exactly what I was looking for!
Andy
Your welcome. Let us know how it goes if you use this stuff. Looks like some interesting material. J.P.http://www.jpkfinefurniture.com
Have you had a chance to try this product?How difficult is it to buy? I couldn't find any "where to buy" info on the website you provided.
nikkiwood,I have not tried using this material for any application. From what I read in the review of FHB was that it warks like regular MDF. The advantages of this product over others is that the color goes all the way through. So if you choose to use it for mouldings or shape it the color will remain consistent. Looks like it could be useful for cabinet interiors, showcase construction etc.On one of the links I posted it says to contact BASF to find local dealers.J.P.http://www.jpkfinefurniture.com
Thanks for info. I did look around on the sites you mentioned, and couldn't find any "where to buy" contacts. I dug around some, and finally sent an email to some account manager; i hope he or she is kind enough to pass my query on to the right person. If BASF wants to see this stuff sold, I would think they would get themselves set up a little better.
I believe that the Fine Homebuilding piece on this material did include the comment that the product was new and not yet available.
You're probably thinking of MDF that's been colored all the way through. If that's the case, then you should probably not think about using it for countertops. MDF chips and gouges very easily. And even if the glue is "waterproof", I wouldn't trust it.
Unless you're the lead dog, the view just never changes.
There is a product we use called Richlite. It is a super dense MDF like material, heat resistant and used specificaly for c-tops.
Try http://www.richlite.com
Regards, Darren.
Thanks. Richlite won't sell to me; they only work through certified fabricators. I have some very specific, complex work I'd like to do in my shop, so I'm looking for an alternative that might work.
Perhaps the BASF material will work if I use a specialized coating. If it does, I'll post it with some photos.
Thanks for the feedback.
Andy
You might consider phenolic. That's the generic term for Richlite's product. Phenolic is a paper/resin or canvas/resin composite sheet. You can get it in many thicknesses, and several colors. A source is McMaster-Carr (http://www.mcmaster.com/); search with "phenolic".
How do you like the Richlite? I got the samples but found that the surface scratched very easily so probably would not survive the way I work in a kitchen.
A really interesting product, didn't find it any softer than a maple butcher block top. Bit of a learning curve in installation. You almost have to treat it more like rock tops than wood. It will snap your screws if you don't pilot first. Heavy stuff.
Darren.
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