How do i paint an mdf loft door?

saintscouple

I recently purchased a loft ladder which i installed with no problem, though made a hash of it when trying to convert the door to a drop-down.
Yesterday i had 2 guys round to fit a new drop-down loft door made of mdf. They quoted me £40 which included materials, which i thought was a good price, especially when it took them 3 hours to do it, as apparantly the loft hatch is not square.

So now i want to paint the door white to blend in with the ceiling, and am thinking of getting satinwood, or eggshell as my stair bannisters need doing as well, so might as well use the same thing.
I'm thinking more towards satinwood as i've heard it is more durable to knocks and scrapes.

My question is in regards to preparing the loft door for painting as cheaply as possiable.

Is there a primer and undercoat suitable for mdf that can be applied in one application?

If not what is the best / cheapest primer? watered down pva primer?

I really don't have a clue and without reading about primer would have just slapped the satinwood straight on.

Any help is most appreciated, thanks

I forgot to add, the mdf is aprox 18mm thick, do i need to paint both sides? I read somewhere that it is best to as to avoid bowing.

gmgmgm

You need MDF primer. It will cost less than a tenner from B&Q. Prime both sides and the edges to minimise any moisture getting into the MDF. Then paint the visible part.

ormus

assuming youre using water based paint, just use the same paint for all coats.
it wont matter that much for a loft hatch.
reckon on between 3 - 6 coats.

diable

How do you paint a mdf loft door, I'd guess you;d start by standing on a ladder ;o))

saintscouple

andrew-b wrote: »

You don't need a special primer ...it's just a gimmick to sell you and overpriced pot of paint. My advice is to use oil-based primer/undercoat. I've tried water-based in the past but have found using oil-based is easier and it doesn't raise the fibres of the MDF. With water-based paint the MDF sucks in the water too quickly for my liking. The Dulux website somewhere says to use oil-based on MDF too.

Thanks for this, should have thought to look on the dulux website.
Found this which answers my question http://www.dulux.co.uk/advice/questions/faq/faq_010.jsp

diable wrote: »

How do you paint a mdf loft door, I'd guess you;d start by standing on a ladder ;o))

:rotfl: HaHa, not now it's drop down i don't :rotfl:

Russe11

DO NOT USED WATERBASED PRIMER, if you do the mdf will take the moisture out of the paint product and cause the suface to distort, the mdf to swell and maybe even warp.

Only use MDF primer or somthing oilbased, its not a gimmick its because wasterbased products on timber often effects a prepared surface.

leveller2911

Russe11 wrote: »

DO NOT USED WATERBASED PRIMER, if you do the mdf will take the moisture out of the paint product and cause the suface to distort, the mdf to swell and maybe even warp.

Only use MDF primer or somthing oilbased, its not a gimmick its because wasterbased products on timber often effects a prepared surface.

Many MDF primers are waterbased.......:D

http://www.hardware-ironmongers.com/details.aspx?description=Quick%20Drying%20MDF%20Primer%20and%20Undercoat%20500ml%20White%20&code=0665184

and

http://www.wickes.co.uk/Quick-Drying-MDF-Primer/invt/214271


Not long now till Oil based paints are banned, companies like Farrow and Ball I believe have stopped making Oil based paints already..

saintscouple

andrew-b wrote: »

I've got a feeling dulux have changed that FAQ as it's linking to a quick-drying primer/undercoat that is water-based (quick -drying and wash brushes in water) and is the one i didn't get on with.

I would paint both sides and the edges to protect it fully (i'd start on the loft-facing side first to see how you get on). An alternative product you could use is International Cupboard paint which is oil-based and can be painted straight on (2 coats only with no primer needed)....we used this for a vanity unit we made from MDF. Used a mini foam roller for a brushmark-free finish.

An excellent idea, think i'll look at using the international furniture and cupboard paint, just because it looks easier and total drying time will be less (less chance the cats will get in the loft hatch!).

The international website is pretty useless at giving stockist though, we only have a small b&q in town and it doesn't even show on their website. Got a feeling i'm going to have to search for delivery options.

Russe11 wrote: »

DO NOT USED WATERBASED PRIMER, if you do the mdf will take the moisture out of the paint product and cause the suface to distort, the mdf to swell and maybe even warp.

Only use MDF primer or somthing oilbased, its not a gimmick its because wasterbased products on timber often effects a prepared surface.

Cheers, going to look for the international furniture and cupboard paint in satin and apply with a roller.

leveller2911 wrote: »

Many MDF primers are waterbased.......:D

http://www.hardware-ironmongers.com/details.aspx?description=Quick%20Drying%20MDF%20Primer%20and%20Undercoat%20500ml%20White%20&code=0665184

and

http://www.wickes.co.uk/Quick-Drying-MDF-Primer/invt/214271


Not long now till Oil based paints are banned, companies like Farrow and Ball I believe have stopped making Oil based paints already..

Thanks, i better get a move on then!

saintscouple

Ahh, i've found that Crown do a cupboard makeover paint that might do the trick.

....scrap that, just noticed it needs a seperate primer.

saintscouple

All done now and looks good. Thanks to everyone for their input :beer:

Here's what i went with -

1. Applied a PVA/Water mix on all sides - 2 coats.
2. Light sanding.
3. Applied 2 coats (light sanding inbetween) of Wilkinsons One Coat Satin - oil based.

Job done and looks so good you would think the mdf was supplied in white.
I also applied a draught excluder around the hatch to keep the draught out.

The Wilkinsons Satin is a very reasonable £11.99 for 2.5l (not shown on their website) time will tell how durable it is, but very pleased with it thus far.

I've just finished painting the bannisters and handrail with this also, and i've still got half a tin left!

ormus

Russe11 wrote: »

DO NOT USED WATERBASED PRIMER, if you do the mdf will take the moisture out of the paint product and cause the suface to distort, the mdf to swell and maybe even warp.

Only use MDF primer or somthing oilbased, its not a gimmick its because wasterbased products on timber often effects a prepared surface.

wrong wrong wrong.
the trade has been using water based acrylic paints for 40 yrs now.
suitable for bare wood.