Painting mdf

SVB · 29 Dec 2020

Hi all - some advice please

im putting a shelf behind our corner sofa for people to stand drinks etc on and will be making it out of 1/2” mdf.

what paint method will give a good result for this application please?

I don’t have spray guns etc so will be applied simply (bristle or foam brush I expect)

thanks
Simon

sammy.se · 29 Dec 2020

Two coats of wood primer (acrylic is good, water based and dries quickly), sand in between. Your edges might feel a bit rough after priming (depends on the type of MDF you are using) - no issue - just sand and re apply primer. so you might end up with three coats of primer.

Two or three coats of top coat of your choice.

I've used a foam roller and brush - see my WIP here Top cupboards

Marineboy · 29 Dec 2020

Re the shelf dimension are you sure that 12mm is sufficiently thick to provide the rigidity you want without sagging? Of course it depends on the shelf length and how you are going to support it but othing looks worse than a banana shaped shelf.

Re the painting, I’d go with Sammy’s advice. The only difference for me is that I prefer a small mohair type roller.

J-G · 29 Dec 2020

sammy.se said:
Two or three coats of top coat of your choice.

There's never any need for more than one 'top' coat! Two Undercoats may be beneficial if the first doesn't provide the quality of finished surface that you want but the 'top' coat should be considered a 'cosmetic' and be as thin as possible.

sammy.se · 29 Dec 2020

J-G said:
There's never any need for more than one 'top' coat! Two Undercoats may be beneficial if the first doesn't provide the quality of finished surface that you want but the 'top' coat should be considered a 'cosmetic' and be as thin as possible.

Yes, I meant the the non-primer coats, i.e. the final paint of your choice

J-G · 29 Dec 2020

The danger in just saying " Two or three coats of top coat" is that it can be mis-understood by those not familiar with paint 'systems' and read as using the finish coat as many times as needed, whereas the reality is that getting the quality of the surface finish is dependent upon getting the 'Undercoat' applied and finished to the highest quality is paramount.