An Overview of How Solid Surfaces are Made

10 May 2022

You’ve heard of Solid Surfaces, but what are they? Solid surface is gradually becoming a design staple of designers and architects who are using them because of their flexibility, hygienic properties, and cost-efficiency.

What is the solid surface?

Solid surface products were invented in the 1960s. The original idea came from Don Slocum, an engineer, and researcher at DuPont. He aspired to create a countertop or material that looked like natural stone but had better hygienic properties and was more aesthetically pleasing.

How Is Solid Surface Produced?

The process is sort of like baking a cake. It is about adding dry ingredients with wet ones. It combines a filler, a binder, particulates, and pigments that make the solid surface product.

Filler

The filler is dry and usually made of Aluminium Trihydrate (ATH). It is a white powder with a tensile strength that makes the final product strong and allows the solid surface product to carry heavy loads without warping.

Binder

This product is a liquid that holds the dry ingredients together. It is found in plants, and the most common type of binder is resin. Usually, an acrylic resin creates a mouldable solid surface sheet.

Pigment

Pigments are then added to the mix, much like food colour. The colour options are virtually endless, and manufacturers can make thousands of colour combinations.

Particulates

These products are small chips added to the mixture to make patterns and decorations. Particulates come in many forms, sizes, and textures so that manufacturers can get different looks and styles.

Why Is It So Popular?

There are basically four reasons for its popularity.

• It is better and cheaper than natural stone.
• It saves you money and is easy to install, making it a more affordable option.
• It is just as durable as stone materials.
• It is mouldable so that you can make just about anything from it.

It Has Great Design Potential

Solid surface materials are pleasing to the eyes. Let’s face it. People want their homes to look nice but be inexpensive. Solid surface products give you that. The material is clean, elegant-looking, and 100% customizable.

The colour is even, so it always looks the same throughout the design. It looks simple, nice and modern.

It is also mouldable and can have a more continuous shape that flows seamlessly into other design elements in the home. It can be formed into almost any shape and can take on any colour.

To Round It All Up

Solid surface materials are easy to clean, inexpensive, durable but not as heavy as stone, and have a stone-like appearance. And to top it off, solid surface materials can be used in many applications because it is mouldable when it is manufactured.

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