In general, urea formaldehyde glue has a low moisture resistance ratio and therefore, particle boards produced with urea formaldehyde are suitable for use in closed areas. However, melamine formaldehyde glue moisture resistance is relatively higher than urea formaldehyde glue moisture resistance. Particle board products produced with melamine formaldehyde can be used in semi-open outdoor conditions and indoor structures, except for common usage areas, where there may be hot-cold water leaks, moisture deposits or steam, such as bathrooms, showers, sinks, cellars or sinks (kitchen sinks).
In this study, it is aimed to increase the resistance of urea formaldehyde particle board to semi-open outdoor conditions (temperature and humidity) by applying water-borne acrylic coatings. The outdoor durability of urea formaldehyde particle boards (test panels) prepared with in two different water-borne acrylic coating formulations was compared with urea formaldehyde and melamine formaldehyde particle boards (control panels). For the test and control samples, artificial weathering test was applied for 12 days (288 h). After the weathering test, some mechanical (flexural strength, modulus of elasticity, tensile strength) and physical (surface roughness, water absorption, moisture and density) of the test and control samples were determined.
After the outdoor test, the change in the mechanical and physical properties of the test samples were found close to the control on melamine formaldehyde particle boards. However, it was determined that the semi-open outdoor durability of the test samples was quite higher than urea formaldehyde particle boards without coating applied. The results of this study showed that in semi-open outdoor conditions, urea formaldehyde particle boards can be preferred instead of melamine formaldehyde particle boards.