Totaly newbie to DIY- painting MDF

dove2011

Hi all

I am total newbie to DIY-
Just getting bespoke shelves put in up in the sitting room; these will be the main feature in my room and I want to paint it white... Is this difficult to do; as I dont have a lot of painting experience I was going to hire someone but rather do it myself if it wasnt too hard.
I would need a primer, basecoat + paint. Any suggestions would be helpful.

phormium

Don't know if it needs to be that complicated. I have loads of painted mdf and just used satinwood paint, couple of coats, sand inbetween, brush or little roller.

dove2011

phormium wrote: »

Don't know if it needs to be that complicated. I have loads of painted mdf and just used satinwood paint, couple of coats, sand inbetween, brush or little roller.

So use satinwood first; then paint... and sand inbetween- how harsh would you sand it or is it light sand

Carpenter

Sand a lot and seal the edge a few time otherwise the hair will stick out also seal between standings

phormium

Not sure if I made that clear, Satinwood is a type of paint. So just one tin of paint needed, whatever colour you are using, paint, sand lightly, be sure to wipe off any dust with damp cloth, paint again. As said give particular attention to cut edges, they need extra sanding. I only use a fine sandpaper.

whizbang

The only thing that ruins a nice bit of woodwork, is seeing the MDF edges.

you absolutely need to prefinish the edges. MDF will soak up gallons of paint on edges, swell, and distort.

Use some iron-on edging.

phormium

Even nicer if you get a length of nice beading from any of the DIY stores and put a strip of it along the edges.

Lando Griffin

There is a MDF sealer available for the edges this stops the soakag
As said satanwood and light sanding between coats with a 240 then 400 grit sand paper.
I would use a little spirits on a cotton cloth as as cleaning with water between coats may not be the best.
Use a good brush with fine fibers.

phormium

Maybe just them spray painted somewhere before you put them up, probably won't cost any more than buying all the bits and pieces yourself if you don't already have them.

Lando Griffin

There is a MDF sealer available for the edges this stops the soakag
As said satanwood and light sanding between coats with a 240 then 400 grit sand paper.
I would use a little spirits on a cotton cloth as as cleaning with water between coats may not be the best.
Use a good brush with fine fibers.

jack of all

This has been well covered here before. I'd say spray painting is out, last time I priced some birch play bookcases to be sprayed it was going to cost half as much again as the cost to build them, especially if you want a decent finish and denibbing between coats. For MDF I would seal all surfaces and cut edges with a well thinned coat of oil based undercoat, maybe 2 coats on the cut edges. Rub down lightly and apply 1 full coat of oil based undercoat, followed by two coats of satinwood, applied with a foam roller. Foam rollers are very quick and give a great finish, pic below shows a simple bookcase/display unit I made from MDF and finish as above. White undercoat and satinwood are not expensive so don't skimp on the coats as good build-up of paint really does look better. It's vital to rub down between coats and wipe down to remove dust etc.

dove2011

Thanks for all the advise; will attempt it. Ya the spray painting costing €300.00; unit only costing €380.00; yes i am hoping to achieve something like Jack of all display unit. I have looked around for local painters or odd job people but are very scarce or too busy before Christmas & this is in rural Kerry!!!

hesker

You can buy an MDF paint. Think it's called Melamine and MDF Paint. About 20 euro for 750ml which should do the trick. One coat (maybe 2) with a foam roller and it will look perfect. I've used it and it works.

dodzy

dove2011 wrote: »

Thanks for all the advise; will attempt it. Ya the spray painting costing €300.00; unit only costing €380.00; yes i am hoping to achieve something like Jack of all display unit. I have looked around for local painters or odd job people but are very scarce or too busy before Christmas & this is in rural Kerry!!!

If your'e looking for a similar unit to jack's, then i'd definitely go the Ikea route. They have an abundance of units, multiple sizes, very similar in appearance. Cheaper, I wager, in the long run.

oisinbutler

jack of all wrote: »

This has been well covered here before. I'd say spray painting is out, last time I priced some birch play bookcases to be sprayed it was going to cost half as much again as the cost to build them, especially if you want a decent finish and denibbing between coats. For MDF I would seal all surfaces and cut edges with a well thinned coat of oil based undercoat, maybe 2 coats on the cut edges. Rub down lightly and apply 1 full coat of oil based undercoat, followed by two coats of satinwood, applied with a foam roller. Foam rollers are very quick and give a great finish, pic below shows a simple bookcase/display unit I made from MDF and finish as above. White undercoat and satinwood are not expensive so don't skimp on the coats as good build-up of paint really does look better. It's vital to rub down between coats and wipe down to remove dust etc.

You've nailed it there Jack, one thing I would add is that you should sand the edges of the mdf before painting. It will give you a better finish on the edges. Several thin coats of paint will look better than a couple of heavy coats and make sure to rub down with some wet & dry paper between coats

oisinbutler

dove2011 wrote: »

Hi all

I am total newbie to DIY-
Just getting bespoke shelves put in up in the sitting room; these will be the main feature in my room and I want to paint it white... Is this difficult to do; as I dont have a lot of painting experience I was going to hire someone but rather do it myself if it wasnt too hard.
I would need a primer, basecoat + paint. Any suggestions would be helpful.

How did it go for you?