Thread: Laminating / finishing plywood (furniture)

I know that people have had MDF powdercoated, though I don't know who had it done or who did the job. You want to work with marine ply because you have it surplus, but the same proccess might work. Alternatives would be spraying with car acrylic etc. or having it 2 packed by a kitchen finisher. All likely to be not cheap though due to the cost of materials and prep involved.

One of our local surplus stores is seling discontinued colour 3600 x 1200 laminex sheets for $10-$20 per sheet, glanced at a few sheets in the stack the other day, and wouldn't like them for lining a chookshed though. But it maybe worthwhile casting around any bargain/surplus stores near you, just in case. You might be able to get laminate offcuts through cabinet makers reasonably cheaply also, every time someone orders something with an odd colour, hey have to order a full sheet and often have offcuts with no commercial value that they will part with for cash or beer.

2-pack painting is usually around $100 per sq. metre on MDF, more expensive on ply (add $20-ish per sq.m) as they have to spray an extra undercoat to fill the grain. It's pretty resistant to scratching (except dark colours with a high-gloss finish - they show EVERY SINGLE scratch and dint) but sharp edges are prone to chipping.