Play with Melamine Cheaply!

HammerSandwich · Post by **HammerSandwich** » Wed Jul 14, 2004 8:04 pm

This one goes out to all guys who've never seen melamine and don't want to order from McMaster.

My mother just showed me her new Mr. Clean Erasers. They sure seem to be melamine, though I can't prove it. OTOH, they look (minus shape, duh!) and feel just like the foam from my McMaster ceiling tiles, and the McFoam scrubs just like the Erasers. BTW, everybody with spare melamine needs to pour some water on it.

loren_brothers · Post by **loren_brothers** » Thu Jul 15, 2004 12:44 am

just as a little side-note here:

Since I have spent the last 10 years working in hardware stores I was completely befuddled by the above reference to "melamine". Any hardware guy knows that melamine is a "plastic surface" board made with either compressed chipboard composite or plywood and that it is used in various applications that include cabinet construction for one. http://www.dsm.com/en_US/html/dmm/melamine_home.htm If you wander into your local "home center' and ask the poor sales associate for melamine you will end up in the lumber yard..definately NOT the cleaning supply aisle!

So what the hell does "melamine" have to do with erasers I had to ask myself?

LOL time for search...and now I stand enlightened! http://www.frostytech.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=982

Good God! Even an old fart like me can learn something new (or at least different!).

Thanks Hammer!

But I WON'T be pouring water on the kitchen cabinets anytime soon though !!!

lenny · Post by **lenny** » Thu Jul 15, 2004 1:03 am

From Mr. Clean website comes this bit of information:

BusinessWeek called Mr. Clean Magic Eraser a "Scrubber with a Heart of Foam," stating, "Melamine foam is best known for soundproofing in everything from airplanes to ceiling tiles, but Procter & Gamble has discovered that it can work as a scouring pad, too. It looks like a sponge, but works like an eraser, wearing away as you use it until nothing is left."

Googling for Mr. Clean melamine returns more hits, such as this one.

prof99 · Post by **prof99** » Thu Jul 15, 2004 6:31 am

I think that you get more for your money from McMaster, but if you just want to experiment, or need only a little bit, this would work great. Thanks Hammer!

somebody · Post by **somebody** » Fri Jul 16, 2004 2:15 pm

I actually ordered a free sample of the Magic Erasers a while ago. I haven't gotten them yet, though. I didn't realize that it was melamine.

I still have a sheet of melamine from McMaster leftover so I cut off a piece and used it to clean part of a wall. It worked okay, but I think that sheet that I used was too thin to be useful.

Bluefront · Post by **Bluefront** » Sat Jul 17, 2004 12:17 pm

I couldn't resist and bought a $2 package of the things. Man that's expensive for two small pieces.

Comparing it to the SafetyMat foam I usually use, melamine is softer, squishes more easily, and reminds me of the foam hard drives used to come in. It can actually be broken if you press on it with a finger-nail. I'm not impressed....I can find packing material foam with very similar qualities everywhere, for free.

You want some foam that's a better than melamine, only free? Many new cars come with large, easily removable pieces of foam on bumpers, doors, etc. These keep new cars from slight dents, scratches.....and are just thrown away before the car is put out for sale. I got a big pile of the stuff from my local, friendly Nissan dealer. It's softer than melamine, and gray or blue in color. I've used it to soft mount hard drives successfully. Free is good.

somebody · Post by **somebody** » Sat Jul 17, 2004 2:20 pm

You compared the feel of melamine and SafetyMat. But how does that translate to sound absorbing ability?

Bluefront · Post by **Bluefront** » Sat Jul 17, 2004 2:51 pm

Well hard to say....If you just set your HD on a piece of foam, expecting noise reduction, melemine would be better than safetymat. But you could just set your HD on a simple soft sponge, which would even be better. I'd venture the softer, the better in this application. (temps not being a factor here).

All the different foams around, have their own advantages. But for the price, I'm not buying any more melemine....except to use as an eraser.

somebody · Post by **somebody** » Sat Jul 17, 2004 7:32 pm

I was actually refering to the use of the foam on the sides of the case to absorb sound. I have melamine sheets on the sides of my case and it works okay. I was wondering how it compares to the SafetyMat that you refer to. I have never heard of it before.

Don't people set their hard drives on foam to absorb vibration rather than sound?

Bluefront · Post by **Bluefront** » Sun Jul 18, 2004 12:39 am

Safety Mat foam from Home Depot

Comes in a package of four 2'x2' sheets for $8-$15. I use it to line the sides, bottom, top, etc of my cases.

I wasn't aware you could get melemine in sheets large enough to cover the side of a computer.....at a reasonable price anyway. It would be way to fragile for me.

That safety mat foam won't split or break....can be used over and over. Works pretty well as a dampening panel, although not as good as high-priced acoustic foam.

somebody · Post by **somebody** » Sun Jul 18, 2004 6:59 pm

McMaster.com has 2'x2' sheets of melamine for $3.16 each. The sheets are protected by removable fiberglass so they are not as fragile as you think.