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Painting MDF panels

Steve Maskery

Steve Maskery

Old Oak
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Ooh the Finishing forum. 'Ere be Dragons.

I'm building kitchen cabinets. Nothing fancy, slab doors made from MRMDF*.

Much of the paint in France is a bit meh. It's also expensive. I have found an outlet place, a shed on a farm, that sells loads of cheap and nasty end-of-line stuff, but they do have some Leyland and MacPherson paint, but just emulsion and masonry.

Given a choice I would always buy Jonstone's, but I've not seen it here, so I have bought Dulux. This is the exact product:

Dulux Valentine Crème de Couleur - Interior Multi-Media Paint - Satin Tropical Green 5 L : Amazon.fr: DIY & Tools

Dulux Valentine Crème de Couleur - Interior Multi-Media Paint - Satin Tropical Green 5 L : Amazon.fr: DIY & Tools
www.amazon.fr

I'm using a fluffy roller, but even after 4 coats, it is not as uniform as I would like. The surface is not smooth, it is more like leather, fine;y textured. I've also tried a foam roller, but that was worse.

I have also tried polishing it, which has improved it, but still it is not the same professional, even, look that you see in the showrooms.

Once I have it satisfactorily even, I intend to top it with a couple of coats of clear satin varnish.

It's as if it doesn't want to flow out properly. Within minutes it is beginning to go off, so going over it again just makes matters worse.

I do have a compressor and two spray guns, but I have never used them. I used to have an Apollo LVHP sytem, which was excellent, but, whilst I still have the gun somewhere, the turbine grew legs. So I have very little experience of spraying and the paint specifically says "Do not thin". I assume that the manufacturers know what they are talking about regarding their own product.

So if you do this sort of thing regularly, can you point me in the right direction to get proper professional results? I would be very greatful.

S

*Here in France, for some bizarre reason, you have to check which brand you are buying. Some of it is 18mm think and some 19mm thick. I have no idea why. Plus sheets here are bigger than in the UK. 2.5m x 1.25m, rather than 2.44 x 1.22m, so they are also heavier than we are used to. And not nevecessarily green either. It's a minefield.
 
Have you tried watering down the paint a little and applying more pressure as you roll? If that doesn’t work, you might want a different roller with a shorter pile. Although if you want that completely flat look maybe it can only be done with spray.
 
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Steve Maskery said:
'm using a fluffy roller, but even after 4 coats, it is not as uniform as I would like.
Click to expand...
That is because it is not Johnstones, I gave up with Dulux years ago because of poor results. Even with Johnstones I will add flowtrol if the weather is warm simply to keep the wet edge which sounds like one of your issues
Steve Maskery said:
It's as if it doesn't want to flow out properly.
Click to expand...
and don't use a roller. I put the paint on with a two inch brush and then lay it off with a


The one thing that made a big difference was learning to get the paint on, lay it off and walk away without any further dabling.
 
When I made a pair of doors to match my Travis Perkins kitchen, there's a WIP on here somewhere around 2016/17 but photos in photobucket, I got white primer aerosols from B&Q followed by satin aerosols that matched exactly the cream of the TP. Cutting back between coats etc. I'm told people can't tell the difference which is pleasing.

IMG_0541.JPG

IMG_0557.JPG

The MDF was green MRMDF. No idea how many panels you're doing, but could you be able to source aerosol primer and paint in your part of France.
 
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Steve Maskery said:
it is not the same professional, even, look that you see in the showrooms.
Click to expand...
We gave up on that way of thinking years ago,

We make a few things for clients that they want a paint finish applied, we have the option locally of getting it profesionally sprayed but to be honest it does make it look more like plastic, rather than painted.

We did buy into a Graco spray gun, with the view that it may, at least be quicker and produce a better finish, but after a nearly a whole kitchen job (Birch ply, MRMDF and Tulip wood) we abandoned it as it didnt really give us any better of a result than the method we were already using, and we had all the faff of cleaning the gun, the overspray everywhere and the waste of paint.

So we stuck with the hand painting option, however, we use Tikurilla paint, applying 2 base coats and then 2 top coats of Helmi 30 which is semi matt, both are colour matched, with all coats nibbed off in between with 180 grit, and all applied using 5mm knap, micro fibre rollers from Two Fussy Blokes.
 
Thank you Windows. No I haven't, because, as I say, it specifically says Do Not Thin.
It's definitely the paint, not the substrate.

Spectric, you sound as if you have been here. I can get that Floetrol in France. How much would I need to add to 5l and would it change the colour?

HOJ thank you. That is a lot to look up.

Malc, that looks like a proper job.

I hope I've not missed anyone out. Thank you all.
S
 
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Steve Maskery said:
Spectric, you sound as if you have been here. I can get that Floetrol in France. How much would I need to add to 5l and would it change the colour?
Click to expand...
It has no effect on the colour although it is like white PVA glue, I thought the same. I use about 8% per litre of paint. The finish depends upon what you are seeking, I find a brushed job with eggshell gives a more traditional finish than spraying that tends to be more clinical.
 
Spectric said:
That is because it is not Johnstones, I gave up with Dulux years ago because of poor results. Even with Johnstones I will add flowtrol if the weather is warm simply to keep the wet edge which sounds like one of your issues

and don't use a roller. I put the paint on with a two inch brush and then lay it off with a


The one thing that made a big difference was learning to get the paint on, lay it off and walk away without any further dabling.
Click to expand...
Sounds like this could be a good solution ( better be considering the price of the brushes!) not sure what laying off is really, do you just “drag” it across the wet surface? I presume using the brush dry?
Ian
 
Ian, laying off is smoothing the painted finish, using an unloaded brush in one direction.

On MDF we always use two coats of MDF specific primer before any kind of top coat. It makes a significant difference to the finish achievable. I use MDF a great deal for insulated wall panelling. Topcoat Mylands - superb finish and very tough.
 
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AJB Temple said:
Ian, laying off is smoothing the painted finish, using an unloaded brush in one direction.

On MDF we always use to coats of MDF specific primer before any kind of top coat. It makes a significant difference to the finish achievable. I use MDF a great deal for insulated wall panelling. Topcoat Mylands - superb finish and very tough.
Click to expand...
The brush may start out unloaded but surely after a few strokes it picks up some of the paint and ceases to be unloaded?
 
On the tin it says apply between 10 and 25C.
It also says Do Not Thin, but on the listing it says it can be thinned 5% in hot weather. I've been using it neat, but in sensible temperatures.

BTW, I have given the panel two coats of Johnstone's MDF Primer, bought on my last trip to the UK, before applying the paint.

I've ordered a bottle of Floetrol and a laying-off brush. We'll se how that goes.

S
 
RogerS said:
The brush may start out unloaded but surely after a few strokes it picks up some of the paint and ceases to be unloaded?
Click to expand...
You only do sweeping strokes from one end to the other and then no more, we do have this thing where we see a slight line and then attack it with the brush which is where I used to go wrong. I like many thought painting was the domain of painters who had some special skills but in reality it is like woodworking, the right tools with the correct technique and suddenly you can paint. This video shows a guy laying of paint.

 
RogerS said:
The brush may start out unloaded but surely after a few strokes it picks up some of the paint and ceases to be unloaded?
Click to expand...
No. Very light strokes. I was taught this by by uncle Pete when I was 15/16 and worked school holidays in his painting and decorating business. Endless painting of school window frames and doors. He also did special finishes replicating wood grain etc.

(PS - the brush is not dry - it's the same brush used for application, but residue paint, if any, is worked out on the kettle.

Just seen spectric posted. Covers it. No pun intended. Cully agree - painting well is just technique and good brushes.
 
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As mentioned by @HOJ the Two Fussy Blokes rollers are excellent, I always avoided the finishing side of things until a decorator friend gave me some of them to try.
 
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