Reactive solvents of melamine were prepared from methyl ethyl ketone and formaldehyde in the presence of the catalyst triethylamine. The solubility of melamine in the resulting solvents was determined, and the mechanism of dissolution was explained with H-1-NMR and IR spectroscopy. Preliminary experiments aimed at curing the melamine solutions in reactive solvents into melamine-formaldehyde-butanone resins are reported. (c) 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.