An interesting alternative to laminate

[griffindodd]

I found this while snooping around,

48" x 96" sheet of black HDPE at 0.06" thickness, textured on one side, smooth on the other only $33.40 on Amazon.

thought it may be a nice cost effective alternative to the black laminate that people are using...

http://www.amazon.com/Polyethylene-Sheet-060-48-96/dp/B007SNAKNE/ref=sr_1_3?s=industrial&ie=UTF8&qid=1343773557&sr=1-3&keywords=48+x+96+sheet

[Slippyblade]

Good find, but I believe HDPE is pretty soft, would scratch pretty easy.

[Kiatuthlanna]

At less than $10 bucks, I may order the small sheet just to check out the material. I could probably use that somewhere in my house, even if it wouldn't work for the cabinet.

http://www.amazon.com/Polyethylene-Sheet-060-24-48/dp/B007SNAKIE/ref=?ie=UTF8&m=A3JB1C61NQCZD9

Alternatively, looking down in the product ads at the bottom of the page, you could get a 48 x 96 sheet of carbon fiber for just over $1,300. That would probably be pretty scratch resistant.

[JillNatalie]

I think it is metal powder coated. Is it.

[selfie]

HDPE is a bit too soft for a high wear area like a CP but would work OK for the sides of a cab. It is not quite as soft as ABS or polypropylene but can still be marked with a fingernail.

[Kiatuthlanna]

I bought a small piece of the HDPE listed above on Amazon to test it out. I agree that it would probably be alright for cabinet sides but it is certainly not scratch resistant enough for the CP top.  I'm actually going to use the small piece I have for the reveals under my CP. It has a sheen that is a close match for the Formica black-matte laminate that I selected for the rest of my cab, but the surface had a few noticeable imperfections. It is really flexible, so it might be nice in situations where you are going around small radii. It routes as easily as laminate and sticks to mdf with contact cement.  One side of the HDPE from the seller linked above is super high gloss and the other is matte with a very slight texture.

[alfonzotan]

I used HDPE from Grainger for the top of my control panel.  Scratching hasn't been an issue with everyday use, but you have to be very careful with the router when trimming it.  If a piece of debris gets under the router plate, it's easy to gouge out a nasty scratch while you're working.  I like that it has a bit of tactile "give" as opposed to stiff countertop laminate or plexiglass.

[Mental]

Good find, but I believe HDPE is pretty soft, would scratch pretty easy.

Yep, it's very soft. Durable as hell, but would look really bad in a short time.