Fibrex Board

[Wayne Gaudon]

Does anyone know what the white coating on one side of the board is? I use this for panels [1/4 inch] and it makes a great panel .. I have been putting gesso on on the brown side and painting on it but I'm wondering if I could put gesso on the white or even simply paint over the white it it were acrylic based. I am using oil paint of course.

[Wayne Gaudon]

The white side is melamine which is a plastic of some sort? My question is whether on not it is structurally safe to paint on. Will it last? Will the paint peel off? I know I can paint on it but I don't have 25 years to test it.

[Dave Johnson]

I wish I could help you out with that, but I'm not familiar with the product. I may have a piece that is similar to what you're describing, but I think it's called tile board here in the states, and it's only 1/8 inch thick. It's a cheap paneling-like material one might put up in a bathroom. I have two large sheets of it, 4'x8' that I plan to paint on. They're covered on one side by what I think is melamine, what is a hard plastic material. I plan on gessoing the brown side and painting on that. I'll have to build a support for it, as I plan on painting a piece about 48"x38".

The brown side is probably Masonite. I don't know how it's manufactured, or the composition, but I plan on using it anyway. I think the plastic side will provide good protection against moisture. It's not something I bought specifically for painting, but it's otherwise going unused. I don't know if this helps or not, but just thought I'd let you know there's someone else thinking along the same line.

[Wayne Gaudon]

sounds the same .. I've used it for years but gesso and paint went on the brown side .. 1/8 will warp at as small a panel as 12 x 16
I use 1/4 " on 11 x 14 and 12 x 16 panels and it makes a great support at a very decent price.

[WFMartin]

Just as an interesting note here.......I recently tried, and am using, RayMar canvas-covered, primed panels. I really love them, and I use both their oil-primed linen panels, and their acrylic-pimed canvas panels. The panels are made of extremely dense hardboard, or fiberboard.

Here's the interesting part......they are all coated with Melamine on the back side. It is very durable, and safe from any moisture that might cause warping.

I think I would paint on the other side (the side that is not Melamine).

[dirtysteev]

I am not familiar with fibrex as a brand name, but if the coating is indeed melamine do not paint on it, your paint will scratch off for certain. There are lots panels and panel surfaces that are great for painting on but anything resembling plastic is suspect.