mdf painting and finishing.

[anthony tate]

hey dudes!! just registered this morning with this forum. very helpful on how to paint and seal/finish mdf. so just thought id say thanks for cutting out the trial and error misery!! i am about to embark on a camper conversion on a citroen relay van. have done a couple in the past but they have been a bit of an embarrasment as they took about 2 days to finish so you can imagine the quality!! will definately invest in MR MDF sounds brilliant. any hints or tips on hinge types for doors and cupboards would be nice but i think every thing else to get me started has been covered. ( in paint!! ) thanks chaps! if i can advise you on any roofing problems, feel free to ask!!

 

[TobyT]

Anthony,

I would be careful about using MDF in the van conversion. Saving weight is probably your biggest issue and MDF isn't light. My LWB transit has a max gross weight of 3.2 tonnes and it weighed 2 tonnes before I added anything to the interior. Add in a couple of people, watertanks, and any other gubbins you may want and there's not much to play with.

Professionals often use dedicated lightweight ply like Voehringer. Alternattively use thin (4mm) normal ply sandwiched around battens. This provides rigidity while keeping the weight down.