plastics · full record

Solid surface

A repairable, seamless, thermoformable surface: recycled-content and take-back versions make it the library's circular-economy exhibit.

also called Solid surface

The numbers

Density: 1700 kg/m3
Tensile strength: 41 MPa
Elongation at break: 0.4 %
Rockwell hardness: 85 M scale
Barcol hardness: 56
Thermal expansion: 3.9 x10-5/K
Fire classification: Class I (Class A) — NFPA 101; flame spread index <25 (ASTM E84)

No embodied-carbon figure is shown. We do not yet hold one we are licensed to publish, and an unsourced number is worse than none.

What works it

Thermoform

CNC route

In the library

112 variants on the catalogue · held as sheet · 12 mm

Machines that work it

A solid surface with recycled plastic in the mix: speckled, warm to the touch, fully repairable by sanding, and taken back by the manufacturer for re-recycling at end of life. It is the library's circular-economy exhibit A: not because it is zero-impact (nothing is), but because repairability and take-back are designed in rather than bolted on. Compare the recycled route (Durat) with the classic (Corian) and ask what the recycled fraction actually changes.

Tips from the Lab

Thermoform slowly and evenly. Lighter, solid colours form more forgivingly than dark ones with large particulates. · thermoforming
Colour-matched adhesive makes joints invisible: the reason this became the seamless worktop material. · fabrication
Scratches sand out. Work up through finer abrasives and the surface comes back: damage here is maintenance, not loss. · repair

Products

Brands of this material the Lab holds or has worked with.

Durat
Durat
Corian
DuPont
Manufacturer

Compare with

Editorial pairings: the comparisons worth making, on aligned scales where the figures allow one.

Solid surface vs cast acrylic→

Come and work with it

The Lab holds this material. Visit to see it in person and talk to a Technologist about working it.

Visit the Lab →See the machines →Browse the library →

Sources

Manufacturer datasheets
Datasheet VALUES cited as facts with a link to source. Imagery all-rights-reserved by default — photograph our own swatches; manufacturer imagery only via per-manufacturer written permission.

Every value on this page names the source it came from and how firmly it is known. Where we hold no figure we are licensed to publish, we show none.