Thread: Mdf

It's melamine, same as the stuff in cabinets but with a smooth finish instead of textured. So, no, you can't buy it or apply it yourself. Generally called satin finish, it's on both sides; the painted face needs to be scuffed up with a sander for the paint to stick.

Call your local sheet goods supplier (not Bunnings, a proper cabinet supplier) and get a price, it's not that much more than raw MDF and will still be cheaper than whatever you try painting the back with, not to mention waaaay faster.

avoid bunnings etc for buying sheet goods. they really are more expensive/worse quality then an actual supplier. I also thought they only sold the melamine coated stuff in 3mm, but maybe thats just my smaller local bunnings.

Last time I bought MR MDF from a specialist it was the same price as standard MDF. For a laundry strongly urge you to go with MR.

Staff at B*** were hopeless and variously told me:

• MR MDF does not exist,
• MR is the same as non-MR,
• MR was discontinued as it was no good,
• Its ridiculously expensive. It was - at Bunnings.

For cupboard doors or drawer fronts, I urge you to radius all edges - a 1mm radius is adequate. This makes the paint much less likely to chip and let the moisture in. Moisture is your enemy and MR is moisture resistant: it is definitely not waterproof. And ordinary MDF is like wheatbix.

The official product name for the stuff we used to use for this is carcass satin. Sand edges smooth and slightly round over the edges to be painted as mentioned above, lightly scruff the film on the side to be painted, prime face and edges with a compatible primer, finish sand and paint and you should get a mirror smooth surface. Raw MDF tends to have surface variations of up to 0.5mm over a full sheet that basically only show up if you are skimming the face for a CNC spoilboard/vacuum diffuser, or once you paint the panels and mount them vertically, the carcass satin is much flatter specifically because the product is intended to produce a flat high gloss surface when painted, i.e. it will not distort reflections on the finished surface.

Thanks for the replies men. Have decided just to buy the MR MDF which has the one side coated. Will make it easier when painting and peace of mind into the future with moisture I guess.

Will round the edges slightly too, thanks for that tip.

Thanks again, now into another drama I have which I will post a thread for now ☹️

Thanks
Geoff

Gday

Just wondering has anyone applied a domestic semi gloss or a standard wall paint to the mr mdf satin white laminate?

Originally Posted by Barkgrind

Gday

Just wondering has anyone applied a domestic semi gloss or a standard wall paint to the mr mdf satin white laminate?

white knight sell a cleaner and primer to be able to paint melamine, its ability to resist marks and staining also make it a bit tricky to paint. but once primed i'm pretty sure you can just use what ever paint you want.

Scuffing it with 120 grit will also help the primer stick

Rust-Oleum 2X Ultra Cover Spray Paint, comes in flat and gloss.
Bunnings, there are some others around this can as well, Iam having a seniors moment and forget the brand name.

I had a factory 'gloss finish' table n 6 chairs, gave them a very quick rub over with 80g paper then hit them with several light coats to create the 'country rustic' look excellent results.
So on a flat surface Id go as others have mentioned 120g sand clean throughly!!!! then paint
from memory the spray cans also had matching tins for brush painting