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REPAIR POSSIBILITIES FOR MELAMINE FACED CHIPBOARD

Camil Octavian Milincu, Andrei Racolţa, Alexandra Tudoran

Abstract

A significant percentage of nowadays furniture is made of melamine faced chipboard. Even if the surface has a high resistance to aggressive factors, at the time of damage the commonly accepted solution is to replace the board or the entire affected assembly, even if the furniture is relatively new. Surface repair, in addition to being difficult, does not serve the interests of furniture or raw material manufacturers. The study verifies the possibility of repairing the surface of different melamine chipboard boards from both a technical and aesthetic point of view, using materials and techniques widely accessible to the user. The proposed solution consists of using a silicone based mould in order to accurately replicate the surface texture. The lost material is replaced by injecting two part resin through the mould. An overfill insures the evacuation of all the air trapped in between the mould and the chipboard. Surface colour can be replicated either by adding pigment to the resin or in case of more intricate designs by using retouch paint. As the repairs cannot perfectly replicate the melamine surface, the study verifies also from an subjective point of view the acceptance of the repair and identifies the factors that must be taken into account in order to design a repair resilient surface. The wide-spread of such solutions can increase at first the duration of use of the furniture. More importantly, over time, they can increase awareness of the possibility of repairing the existing piece of furniture instead of buying a new one. This can lead on long term to a significant decrease of the wood cut on the purpose of furniture manufacture. The furniture design could take into account the possibility of repair. In the case of raw material producers, pressure can be put on the generation of surface decorations that can easier conceal repairs.

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DOI resolver: doi.org/10.5593/sgem2020/6.1/s27.080

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