Melamine foam sponges

We have found melamine foam sponge household cleaners very useful in
removing rubber marks from modern painted skirtings. Cleaning tests
show that these sponges would probably be extremely useful in
removing stubborn marks from unvarnished older paint finishes. They
appear in some instances to be more effective and work in a shorter
time than conventional conservation cleaning reagents. We would like
to learn more of how these sponges are made, why they work and what
residues they may leave behind. The action involves some kind of
abrasion, but does anyone know what other forces are at work?

The sponges are sold under various trade names, for instance "Xtreme
sponge" in the U.S.A. and "Duzzit Sponge Eraser" in the U.K. The
foam is described as an open cell foam material made from melamine
resin, (melamine-formaldehyde polycondensate) the unique properties
of which were discovered by German engineers, but more detailed
information seems very hard to acquire.


                                  ***
                  Conservation DistList Instance 20:43
                  Distributed: Tuesday, March 6, 2007
                       Message Id: cdl-20-43-021
                                  ***