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  1. #1
    snifferdog
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    How do you get a good finish on MDF

    Anyone any ideas what the best way to paint MDF? I'm making a unit for the bathroom and the doors are going to be out of MDF with a little pattern routered out. My last mdf project was a shelf and it took me four coats of paint plus undercoat to get an 'even' finish.

  2. #2
    Legend bladesftp's Avatar
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    Re: How do you get a good finish on MDF

    use a small roller on it m8 and a sponge brush that will give ya a nice finish and will take less paint aswell

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    Re: How do you get a good finish on MDF

    Sand between coats including the udercoat.

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    Member Declan's Avatar
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    Re: How do you get a good finish on MDF

    get someone else to do it Hidden Content

  5. #5
    snifferdog
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    Re: How do you get a good finish on MDF

    Hidden Content Originally Posted by bladesftp Hidden Content
    use a small roller on it m8 and a sponge brush that will give ya a nice finish and will take less paint aswell
    Hidden Content Originally Posted by kujina Hidden Content
    Sand between coats including the udercoat.
    Thanks guys, maybe I should have been more specific, The MDF tended to 'soak' up the paint including the undercoat, and this was the reason for the uneven finish. I was thinking of maybe using some kind of solution to seal the MDF - maybe pva?

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    Legend bladesftp's Avatar
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    Re: How do you get a good finish on MDF

    Hidden Content Originally Posted by snifferdog Hidden Content
    Thanks guys, maybe I should have been more specific, The MDF tended to 'soak' up the paint including the undercoat, and this was the reason for the uneven finish. I was thinking of maybe using some kind of solution to seal the MDF - maybe pva?

    water the pva down m8 and it will work a treat

  7. #7
    Member marvintherobot's Avatar
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    Re: How do you get a good finish on MDF

    You can buy a primer especially made for mdf but you need to let it dry between coats this will help stop the suction

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    Re: How do you get a good finish on MDF

    Ah this brings me back to my school days - my CDT teacher taught us basically whats been said here. Sand it, coat it in watered down PVA, paint it, then sand, paint & repeat untill your happy with it.

  9. #9
    Husky
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    Re: How do you get a good finish on MDF

    @Refractor,

    that is what I was told aswell. The first layer of paint will never be good enough. So you have to sandpaper it again with very fine paper. After that repaint and that should normaly be it.

    I have just painted lots of wooden windows, yes not MDF but still. Sandpapered, Painted and it looked bad, Sanpaper again, Paint and it gets nice and smooth. What they say and what you can feel with wood is that the first time you paint it the little "woodhair" stands up and than its not smooth. That you have to sandpaper again off and after that it will be nice.

  10. #10
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    Re: How do you get a good finish on MDF

    OK , i am a professional painter/decorator , working mainly on new build houses. It depends on what type of finish you are looking for. e.g for gloss finish , the spec is generally 1 coat primer of thinned trade undercoat , when dry , fill any imperfections or nail holes with a lightweight filler. Then rub down with sandpaper (100 - 150 grit ) untill smooth. Then 1 coat full undercoat , a light rub down when dry , followed by 1 coat full gloss .Hope this helps.also , on the edges , it tends to be a bit rougher (hairier) ,so an extra rub down + undercoat on the edges may be required.
    Last edited by unforgiven; 04-09-2006 at 10:37 PM.

  11. #11
    mattmate
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    Re: How do you get a good finish on MDF

    Roller it, just done some myself, well the girlfriend has and it came out mint.

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    Re: How do you get a good finish on MDF

    to fully seal MDF you need to use an oilbased varnish as your first cote then when dry sand and apply the top cote you want be that gloss, satin, eggshell or matt!

    Iv tried all so called special MDF sealants and PVA to no avail. Varnish could seal a sponge and it works an absolute treat.

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