A. Pizzi
Ecole Nationale Superieure des Technologies et Industries du Bois, Universite de Nancy 1, Epinal, France
Melamine-formaldehyde (MF) and melamine-urea-formaldehyde (MUF) resins are among the most used adhesives for exterior and semiexterior wood panels and for the preparation and bonding of both low — and high-pressure paper laminates and overlays. Their much higher resistance to water attack is their main distinguishing characteristic from urea-formaldehyde (UF) resins. MF adhesives are expensive. For this reason, MUF resins which have been cheapened by addition of a greater or lesser amount of urea are most often used. Notwithstanding their widespread use and economical importance, the literature on melamine resins is only a small fraction of that dedicated to UF resins. Often MFs and MUFs are described in the literature as a subset of UF amino resins. This is not really the case, as they have peculiar characteristics and properties all of their own which in certain respects are very different from those of UF adhesives.