wood · full record

Through-colour fibreboard

MDF coloured all the way through: a routed edge reveals the same colour, not a brown core; machines beautifully, honest about dust and resin.

also called Colour-through MDF · Coloured MDF

The numbers

Density: 830 (8 mm) → 720 (30 mm) kg/m3
Bending strength: 42 (8 mm) → 36 (30 mm) MPa
Modulus of elasticity: 3400 (8 mm) → 3000 (30 mm) MPa
Internal bond: 0.80 (8–12 mm) → 0.75 (16–30 mm) MPa
Swelling thickness 24h: 12 (8 mm) → 7 (30 mm) %
Formaldehyde class: Class E1 (≤ 8 mg/100 g)
Thickness range: 8 · 12 · 16 · 19 · 30 mm
Panel sizes: 2440 × 1220 · 2440 × 1830 · 3660 × 1220 · 3660 × 2440 mm
Fire classification: D-s2,d0 (12–30 mm) · F (8 mm)

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

CNC route

Laser cut

In the library

13 variants on the catalogue · held as sheet · 8 mm

Machines that work it

MDF that is coloured all the way through (dye in the fibre, resin binding it), so a routed edge or a chamfer reveals the same colour, not a brown core. It machines like a dream and finishes with oil or wax alone. It is still an engineered fibreboard: the dust demands extraction, and the resin carries the carbon: honest trade-offs, on show.

Tips from the Lab

Cut edges drink moisture. Seal them if the piece will live anywhere damp. · durability
Finish with oil or wax rather than lacquer: it deepens the colour and keeps the matte fibre surface. · finishing
The dust is fine enough to hang in the air long after you have stopped cutting. Extraction on, every time. · COSHH
A chamfer or a round-over reveals the same shade as the face. Design the edge: it is the whole reason to reach for this board. · design

Products

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

Forescolor
Forescolor
Valchromat
Investwood
Manufacturer Datasheet

Compare with

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

Through-colour fibreboard vs birch plywood→

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.