Thread: Making Kitchen Doors

Originally Posted by tomartomau

I thought of using a hoop or birch plywood with a border of say 5cm (pine) to hide the end grain of the plywood. I have not seen this done but care would have to ensure proper fit of the solid border, I'd use biscuits probably.

No need for biscuits; just cut the edging a couple of mm wider than the ply, spread a thin film of white glue on the edge and stick them down with masking tape. Much less hassle than biscuits and if you have to trim an edge to fit you don't have the risk of them showing through

Thanks for the reply, that is sound advice,

deleted after remembering forum rules about not criticising a business online.

Originally Posted by Arron

deleted after remembering forum rules about not criticising a business online.

I don't think your reply was undue criticism; there's a difference between giving your opinion (even if it is negative) based on actual experience and just trash-talking them because you have a bone to pick.

Either way, the rest of your reply was relevant and worth leaving up. On that note, I would probably go for a spray can primer over plaster filler, much less messy and sanding plaster filler for painting suuuuuuuucks

Agreed! I thought your response was a valuable contribution. I guess you're talking about laminated particle board not MDF? There'd be no reason to fill the edge of MDF would there?

Originally Posted by aldav

There'd be no reason to fill the edge of MDF would there?

Not so much filling as sealing the edge so it doesn't suck up the paint

OK, I guess I overreacted. My original contribution was something like this:

The IKEA kitchens are fairly short lifespan products. I know because we have one. Therefore, I wouldn’t choose a solution that involves a lot of hard work or cost.

Finishing plywood to the high standard that people expect in a kitchen is a lot of work, especially lipped plywood. It’s actually worse if you are planning an opaque finish - clearcoats at least allow you to settle for the ‘honest’ woody look.

The trouble is that 2 pack has set the standard.

So my solution would be to get some melamine faced mdf. Cut it to size. Route an attractive profile on the edges (a very small pencil round seems to be most popular. Fill the edges with gyprock finishing coat. Spray with acrylic lacquer. Buff with a machine buffer and some car polish.

You will get a good finish if you can spray well - not as good as 2pack but close enough.

My point was that this is the quickest and cheapest way to get a quality job - and it’s entirely in line with modern tastes.

Do you need to fill the edges of mdf. Well, I always do fill and then seal but now you have me questioning that. Maybe I’ll try it with just sealer.

Cheers
Arron

Re using pva to glue on edging and then spraying with acrylic.
My experience is that the glue will telegraph thru the paint.
Use pva and 2 pack or urea/epoxy with acrylic.
H.

Use Penetrol

One way to get a great finish with gloss paint is to add Penetrol .
The Flood Company Australia » Paint Additives » penetrol.
I have had excellent results for many years using Penetrol in finish coats.
My most recent project was painting all the doors of my daughters house during her renovation.
I use a HVLP spray gun 1.7 nozzle at 20 psi. However a friend painted his renovated caravan using a roller with excellent results.
One project I had was just as you are doing. I made replacement doors using MDF, sealed them with a couple of coats of thinned down Bondcrete ( www.bondall.com/wp-content/uploads/Bondcrete.pdf .priming and sealing before painting ) fine sanding well between coats. I replace 10% of the water in the mix with acrylic primer or ceiling white to give it some opacity.
Cheers
John T

Use Penetrol

One way to get a great finish with gloss paint is to add Penetrol .
The Flood Company Australia » Paint Additives » penetrol.
I have had excellent results for many years using Penetrol in finish coats.
My most recent project was painting all the doors of my daughters house during her renovation.
I use a HVLP spray gun 1.7 nozzle at 20 psi. However a friend painted his renovated caravan using a roller with excellent results.
One project I had was just as you are doing. I made replacement doors using MDF, sealed them with a couple of coats of thinned down Bondcrete ( www.bondall.com/wp-content/uploads/Bondcrete.pdf .priming and sealing before painting ) fine sanding well between coats. I replace 10% of the water in the mix with acrylic primer or ceiling white to give it some opacity.
Cheers
John T

Originally Posted by clear out

Re using pva to glue on edging and then spraying with acrylic.
My experience is that the glue will telegraph thru the paint.
Use pva and 2 pack or urea/epoxy with acrylic.
H.

That's true, I just assumed that the OP was going to go with clear over ply, 'cos why would you waste money on ply that's getting painted?

NEVER use PVA if it's getting painted, even 2 pack runs the risk of telegraphing the glue line or cracking along it. Paint = MDF, 1/2 or less the cost of ply and you'll get a much better finish.

18mm MR MDF saves all the issues, ie: no need to seal the edges. I've done over 100 doors/drawer fronts now, some as shaker style and some flat panels. I do line all mine with liner laminate, mask that off, and then paint 2 coats of undercoat and two coats of oil based enamel. It's important to let the enamel "go off" for a week or so to get properly hard. So far from 6 kitchens no complaints about the enamel.

Originally Posted by david.elliott

18mm MR MDF saves all the issues, ie: no need to seal the edges....paint 2 coats of undercoat

One of the primary functions of undercoat on MDF (and any timber product really) is to seal it...

Originally Posted by elanjacobs

One of the primary functions of undercoat on MDF (and any timber product really) is to seal it...

Yep, but you're missing the point... Edges of standard MDF "blow up" when painted, whereas MR MDF does not...