Painting MDF - The Ultimate Guide - Painters World

Can You Paint MDF?

Firstly, let's answer the question of what exactly is MDF and whether you can paint it, as it is a question we receive a lot here at Painters World. MDF stands for 'Medium-Density Fibreboard', a commonly used material for the production of furniture and other building materials around the world. It consists of a combination of sawdust and resins that make it inexpensive and easy to cut. Common uses for MDF include kitchen cabinets and furniture such as dressing tables and wardrobes.

To answer the question of whether you can paint MDF, the answer is simple, yes you can paint MDF. As with any painting project, it must be properly prepared and painted with the most suitable paint for its particular composition. MDF has a 150 grit on the front and back sides while the edges are much more rough than this, making them highly porous This means that they must be prepared in order to create a uniform substrate ready to paint.

Benefits & Drawbacks of MDF

It is crucial to understand MDF before beginning the process of painting it. Here are the key benefits and drawbacks of MDF as a material:

Benefits

• The small fibres that make up MDF make it a very smooth surface on the face of the material, giving you a good surface to paint
• With no visible grain to the wood due to its composition, it has a uniform appearance
• It is less volatile to movement compared to a natural wood surface, which helps to prevent paint cracking

Drawbacks

• You must wear the appropriate safety gear as MDF causes a large amount of dust when sanding and sawing
• With no grain, it does not have the texture that many people want when staining wood
• MDF is porous and can absorb water, which is why many people recommend using oil-based paint over water-based paint, although you can use both on MDF if it is properly primed and sealed

What Is The Best Paint For MDF?

Primer

When painting bare MDF it is crucial to seal it using an MDF primer. We would highly recommend using Dulux Trade Quick Dry MDF Primer as it acts as a primer and undercoat in one that has been specially designed for use on MDF. It can be used on interior and exterior MDF and as a water-based primer is quick-drying and low odour.

Paint

With the water-based primer of Dulux Trade Quick Dry MDF Primer, we would recommend opting for Crown Trade Fast Flow QD Satin as the best paint to use on MDF. This is for a number of reasons, the first of which being that satin is the most popular paint finish for furniture. Further to this, using a water-based primer means that a water-based topcoat must be used, in which Fast Flow by Crown Trade Paint is one of the best on the market. As a water-based satin, it benefits from a quick drying time, being low odour and will not yellow, which is a problem with oil-based paints. It offers all this while ensuring an attractive oil-like finish.

Finally, it can be mixed in any colour, which means that no matter what look you want to achieve with your MDF furniture, it is possible. This includes British Standard, Crown and RAL shades, plus equivalents of all other major manufacturers colours, including designer shades. All you have to do is tell us the name of the shade and we do the rest.