Advice on finishing MDF

[JustGus]

Hi,

I'm a first-time poster and was hoping to get a steer on how to best finish a comms cabinet which has MDF panels. One of the panels is raw MDF, while the two doors are MDF with the smooth, white, 'off-the-shelf' finish you get from places like Bunnings.

The paint I'm using is Dulux "Wash and Wear" Flat - the same stuff that's been used for the surrounding walls.

I was wondering if I can simply go ahead and paint both the raw and finished MDF, or whether I need to seal the raw with something and/or sand the white MDF panels to ensure the paint will adhere properly.

Grateful for any advice!

Gus

[Tung tied]

Hi Gus,

MDF is best sealed with a water-based undercoat or sealer. Oil or solvent based undercoat can raise the wax out of the mdf and can give problems with the adhearence of the topcoat.

Cheers

Bryan

[dr4g0nfly]

I agree with (http://www.woodworkforums.com/member.php?u=33813)Tung Tied in his answer above but would go further and suggest that if it is really important, the extra expense of using 'International' MDF paint.

see the link;

http://www.international-paints.co.uk/scripts/details/qd_mdf_primer.html