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What is the best way to paint MDF that has had a profile routed around the edge?

MFD has a very vell compressed outer surface, but any sawn or routed edges become quite 'fluffy'.

Will a couple of coats of MDF primer seal the surface sufficiently to allow it to be rubbed back to a decent finish?

Cheers
Gary

OK,

So I gave it 2 coats of MDF primer, then built up the top coat.

A fair bit of rubbing down, and it all seems to have worked ok.

I used to work in a joinery shop where we handled a lot of MDF, most of which had routed mouldings. We always used a fine, oil-based wood filler, ususally applied with a finger. This was then rubbed down with 200 grade (or finer) sand paper. Sometimes the process was repeated more than once to get the routed edges as solid as the face. It's also worth giving the faces a very light rubbing with very fine paper just to allow the primer to key in and remove any grease spots from handling , before priming. Indeed, it's worth washing your hands before handling the stuff. Also, I always use a specialist MDF primer, rubbing down Uspecially those edges) between coats. As with most things, the quality of the finished job is only as good as the effort you put into preparation

On a safety note, MDF dust should always be wiped off with a slightly damp cloth rather than blown off, it's pretty evil stuff.

Hi

We now have a project page all about preparing and painting MDF: https://www.diydoctor.org.uk/projects/mdf.htm

Kind Regards

The DIY Doctor Team