I have some MDF doors in the eaves cupboards, just plain 1.5 cm MDF. There
is quite a lot of pine in the room, and I have varnished that. It looks
great. I tried varnishing the MDF doors, and it looks pretty awful, just a
plain kahki colour, and the finish is not good, with the varnish sinking
into the MDF. (I have just finished the second coat and it looks the same. I
guess that if I keep going I will eventually get a decent finish, but it's
only MDF after all.)

I tried a mahogany varnish on a bit of scrap, but the result is even worse,
just a sort of mucky brown.

I could paint the doors gloss white, which would go with the walls, which
are white emulsion. Any suggestions before I do that?

By the way, I have varnished the room side of the doors. Do I have to do the
same to the inside to stop them warping?

On Wed, 27 Jun 2007 20:16:11 +0100, GB wrote:

I have some MDF doors in the eaves cupboards, just plain 1.5 cm MDF. There
is quite a lot of pine in the room, and I have varnished that. It looks
great. I tried varnishing the MDF doors, and it looks pretty awful, just a
plain kahki colour, and the finish is not good, with the varnish sinking
into the MDF. (I have just finished the second coat and it looks the same. I
guess that if I keep going I will eventually get a decent finish, but it's
only MDF after all.)

I tried a mahogany varnish on a bit of scrap, but the result is even worse,
just a sort of mucky brown.

I could paint the doors gloss white, which would go with the walls, which
are white emulsion. Any suggestions before I do that?

By the way, I have varnished the room side of the doors. Do I have to do the
same to the inside to stop them warping?

Some people like varnished MDF (there's no accounting for taste or the
lack of it).

I'd apply an undercoat and a couple of coats of paint. You could do the
frame white and the doors a colour.



--
Ed Sirett - Property maintainer and registered gas fitter.
The FAQ for uk.diy is at http://www.diyfaq.org.uk
Gas fitting FAQ http://www.makewrite.demon.co.uk/GasFitting.html
Sealed CH FAQ http://www.makewrite.demon.co.uk/SealedCH.html
Choosing a Boiler FAQ http://www.makewrite.demon.co.uk/BoilerChoice.html
Gas Fitting Standards Docs he http://www.makewrite.demon.co.uk/GasFittingStandards

On 27 Jun, 20:16, "GB" wrote:
I have some MDF doors in the eaves cupboards, just plain 1.5 cm MDF. There
is quite a lot of pine in the room, and I have varnished that. It looks
great. I tried varnishing the MDF doors, and it looks pretty awful, just a
plain kahki colour, and the finish is not good, with the varnish sinking
into the MDF. (I have just finished the second coat and it looks the same. I
guess that if I keep going I will eventually get a decent finish, but it's
only MDF after all.)

I tried a mahogany varnish on a bit of scrap, but the result is even worse,
just a sort of mucky brown.

I could paint the doors gloss white, which would go with the walls, which
are white emulsion. Any suggestions before I do that?

By the way, I have varnished the room side of the doors. Do I have to do the
same to the inside to stop them warping?


You must treat both sides the same way.

Mr Fuxit wrote:
On 27 Jun, 20:16, "GB" wrote:
I have some MDF doors in the eaves cupboards, just plain 1.5 cm MDF. There
is quite a lot of pine in the room, and I have varnished that. It looks
great. I tried varnishing the MDF doors, and it looks pretty awful, just a
plain kahki colour, and the finish is not good, with the varnish sinking
into the MDF. (I have just finished the second coat and it looks the same. I
guess that if I keep going I will eventually get a decent finish, but it's
only MDF after all.)

I could paint the doors gloss white, which would go with the walls, which
are white emulsion. Any suggestions before I do that?

Personally I wouldn't do anything else with MDF except paint it. It's
not intended to be a 'finished' material like natural timber; varnishing
etc really isn't appropriate.

I use MDF primer first - TBH I've never really worked out whether
special 'MDF' variety is really necessary, or whether it's just a
marketing ploy! - followed by undercoat and then gloss. Don't use emulsion.

By the way, I have varnished the room side of the doors. Do I have to do the
same to the inside to stop them warping?

You must treat both sides the same way.

For real? I find that very hard to believe. Though I think personally
in all cases where I've only painted one side of an MDF panel it will
have been screwed down, so warping woudn't be evident.

David

Thanks for the advice guys. I will varnish the insides of the doors to be on
the safe side.

The outsides of the doors have had two coats of varnish. If I paint over the
doors in gloss, can I just undercoat straight onto the varnish (having given
it a rub-down to provide a key)?

GB wrote:
Thanks for the advice guys. I will varnish the insides of the doors
to be on the safe side.

I'm still *very* unconvinced about the need to treat both sides of the
MDF the same to prevent warping; however if you're now going to paint
the insides white, then I do think that giving them a priming coat of
varnish just to match the outsides would be a bit daft...

The outsides of the doors have had two coats of varnish. If I paint
over the doors in gloss, can I just undercoat straight onto the
varnish (having given it a rub-down to provide a key)?

Sounds fine.

David

Lobster wrote:
GB wrote:
Thanks for the advice guys. I will varnish the insides of the doors to
be on the safe side.

I'm still *very* unconvinced about the need to treat both sides of the
MDF the same to prevent warping; however if you're now going to paint
the insides white, then I do think that giving them a priming coat of
varnish just to match the outsides would be a bit daft...


Its not really necessary at all. MDF - unlike wood - its fairly
dimensionally stable, and not strong enough to warp itself if it gets
damp as long as its well screwed down

On 30 Jun, 16:58, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
Lobster wrote:
GB wrote:
Thanks for the advice guys. I will varnish the insides of the doors to
be on the safe side.

I'm still *very* unconvinced about the need to treat both sides of the
MDF the same to prevent warping; however if you're now going to paint
the insides white, then I do think that giving them a priming coat of
varnish just to match the outsides would be a bit daft...

Its not really necessary at all. MDF - unlike wood - its fairly
dimensionally stable, and not strong enough to warp itself if it gets
damp as long as its well screwed down

You obviously don't work with MDF very much commercially. Go to Ikea
and look at their "High gloss" wardrobe doors, and try to find a
straight one!

Mr Fuxit wrote:
On 30 Jun, 16:58, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
Lobster wrote:
GB wrote:
Thanks for the advice guys. I will varnish the insides of the doors to
be on the safe side.
I'm still *very* unconvinced about the need to treat both sides of the
MDF the same to prevent warping; however if you're now going to paint
the insides white, then I do think that giving them a priming coat of
varnish just to match the outsides would be a bit daft...
Its not really necessary at all. MDF - unlike wood - its fairly
dimensionally stable, and not strong enough to warp itself if it gets
damp as long as its well screwed down

You obviously don't work with MDF very much commercially. Go to Ikea
and look at their "High gloss" wardrobe doors, and try to find a
straight one!

That's not because they ain't painted on both sides..

Read my post

"its fairly dimensionally stable, and not strong enough to warp itself
if it gets damp as long as its *well screwed down*"

"The Natural Philosopher" wrote in message
...

"its fairly dimensionally stable, and not strong enough to warp itself if
it gets damp as long as its *well screwed down*"


Can I just ask for some advice on how to prepare the varnished doors for
over-painting, please?

It won't take long to varnish/paint the insides of the doors, and I prefer
to do that than risk warping, as I can't screw the doors down even a little
bit.

On 2 Jul, 09:28, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
Mr Fuxit wrote:
On 30 Jun, 16:58, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
Lobster wrote:
GB wrote:
Thanks for the advice guys. I will varnish the insides of the doors to
be on the safe side.
I'm still *very* unconvinced about the need to treat both sides of the
MDF the same to prevent warping; however if you're now going to paint
the insides white, then I do think that giving them a priming coat of
varnish just to match the outsides would be a bit daft...
Its not really necessary at all. MDF - unlike wood - its fairly
dimensionally stable, and not strong enough to warp itself if it gets
damp as long as its well screwed down

You obviously don't work with MDF very much commercially. Go to Ikea
and look at their "High gloss" wardrobe doors, and try to find a
straight one!

That's not because they ain't painted on both sides..

Read my post

"its fairly dimensionally stable, and not strong enough to warp itself
if it gets damp as long as its *well screwed down*"