Moisture resistant MDF or Beech veneered ply – painting

[Cabinetman]

My son wants to cover one wall in a bedroom as in the photo below, it will actually be wardrobe doors but that’s sort of irrelevant.
It will use nearly all of four sheets of 2.4 x 1.2 m. 18mm
My question is which of the two panels (moisture assistant MDF or some very nice beach veneered ply wicks are stocking at the moment.) would take the smoothest finish, it would be done by hand as we don’t possess spray equipment.
And just how many coats of primer undercoat and topcoat would you recommend ?
Thanks in anticipation. Ian

 

[bjm]

Is that based on the Titanic

I'd go with the MR MDF as the edges will be easier to seal and there is no veneer to chip off. As for the painting, I'll leave that for others apart from saying that Morrells do a really good water based primer which sands really well - you can roller it on too.

 

[AJB Temple]

To give you an idea this panelling is done with ply as the backing and MDF as the panels. It has had one coat of primer, one undercoat and two topcoat - all Brewers trade, using Little Green colour match. You would have no idea what is ply and what is MDF. This is WIP in my kitchen - just about to hang rads.

For panelling or anything with detail as per your design, (and having hand painted my panelling) I would probably hand paint rather than roller, as it is crucial to get into the fiddly bits very evenly. You could spray.

Adrian

 

[Cabinetman]

Point taken re-the edges BJM, thanks Adrian, what sort of ply was it you used please? Did you have to grainfill or just rely on the paint? Thanks

 

[AJB Temple]

This was 18mm birch faced ply from Travis Perkins which was about £30 a sheet as I recall. It has insulation behind it and fixes to stud. I always intended to panel it. I used ply because I had some structural aspects to deal with. I am not that fond of cutting MDF but MDF will be totally fine for what you are doing. No grain filling was needed on the ply. I did run over it with a ROS and fine grit before I did the panelling, but that was mainly to get rid of plaster spots after plastering the ceilings. Either MDF or MR MDF is fine, but MR cuts better and especially if you are painting edges, it takes paint better.

As ever, preparation is everything, so use good quality primer and undercoat and de-nib as necessary.

 

[Cabinetman]

Thanks Adrian, concise and helpful. Ian

 

[Ollie78]

That picture makes me slightly dizzy and i am not even drinking !

Agreed that the morrells primer is great for sanding, I use Tikkurila Otex when on site, its the best primer I have found and it de nibs amazingly.

I would not worry about the edges of the bich ply being a problem as long as they are cut with a sharp blade or router they can be easier than the mdf to prime as they don`t go all fluffy. I made a load of shelves from birch ply with a radius on the front edge. I actually used morrells omnia ( just cause it was left over) all I did was one coat of primer de nib and one top coat (sprayed) you could not see any evidence of the end grain showing through. Also the omnia has proved very hardwearing over time.


Ollie

 

[Cabinetman]

Thanks for that Ollie, I haven’t come across it but I shall do some research.
I was hoping that if I used water resistant MDF it wouldn’t be woolly on the edge, can you remember what sort you used? Cheers Ian