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Almost all affordable furniture has a melamine surface, and the word covers a range of quality that determines how a piece looks in five years.

The Material

Decorative paper impregnated with melamine resin and fused to a board under heat and pressure.

The result is a hard, scratch-resistant, water-resistant surface that is part of the panel rather than stuck on top of it. It is not a laminate sheet and it is not paint.

Quality varies with the paper, the resin content and the pressing, which is why two melamine surfaces can behave very differently.

What It Does Well

• Resists scratching considerably better than paint or foil
• Wipes clean and tolerates water on the surface
• Holds colour without fading as fast as printed wraps
• Cheap enough to make the furniture affordable
• Dimensionally stable, so panels stay flat

Manufacturers naming scratch-resistant melamine and stating that edges are sealed in the same pass, of the kind at thexixini.com, are describing the two things that determine durability.

The Edges Are the Weak Point

The face is well protected. The cut edges are covered with a strip of edge banding, and that is what fails.

Banding lifts from moisture, from heat and from knocks. Once it lifts, water reaches the board core, and the swelling that follows is not reversible.

Thicker ABS edging holds far better than thin paper edging. Where a manufacturer says every edge is banded and sealed, that is the claim worth checking on arrival.

Repairing It

Chips fill with a wax repair stick in a matching colour, which is cosmetic and effective at arm’s length.

Lifted edge banding can be re-bonded with a household iron over a cloth, which reactivates the adhesive, then held until cool.

Deep damage through to the board cannot be repaired convincingly, which is why prevention matters more than repair.

What Damages It

Heat, water and abrasive cleaners, in that order.

A hot mug directly on melamine can mark it. Standing water at an edge gets into the core. Abrasive cleaners dull the surface permanently.

A damp cloth and a mild detergent is the whole cleaning routine, and drying afterwards matters more than the cleaning.

Against Veneer and Wraps

Real wood veneer looks like timber because it is, and it can be sanded and refinished once or twice. It is also more vulnerable to water.

Printed foil wraps are the cheapest option, scratch easily and cannot be repaired at all.

Sunlight

Melamine fades with ultraviolet light, unevenly where something has stood in one place.

Use Coasters

It marks from a wet glass base as readily as lacquered timber.