MDF whats best paint

Poppycat

We just had a loft ladder fitted and had a new hatch made of MDF

Whats best to paint it with, I have Dulux emulsion (matt) for ceilings and Dulux Gloss (one coat)

I know you can get mdf paint but its not cheap

Thanks

in2deep_2

MDF is like a sponge so you will need to give it a few coats of quality under coat first or you will be forever painting the thing before it stops sucking up the paint.

Poppycat

Thanks will acrylic undercoat be okay. Can I then use emulsion?

john175bramley

http://www.wickes.co.uk/invt/600168

djohn2002uk

Poppycat wrote: »

Thanks will acrylic undercoat be okay. Can I then use emulsion?

If it's new MDF you really need to get a coat of wood primer on to seal it, then you'll only need one coat of undercoat and one of gloss.
If you want to use emulsion to match the ceiling use a thinned coat first as you would on new plaster.

Mikeyorks

Poppycat wrote: »

We just had a loft ladder fitted and had a new hatch made of MDF

You don't need MDF paint .... it's a bit like 'Father's Day' cards .... just made for profit stuff:p

The face of MDF isn't particularly absorbent .... it's the cut edges that absorb for ever. Give it a couple of coats of thinned PVA, concentrating on the edges ... rub it down .... then use whatever you use (I assume it's got a framed surround?) on the woodwork. Did mine that way when I put a loft ladder in 3 years ago .... and it's still pristine. (And I used the grotty bit of MDF that had been in the loft opening for several years prior!)

Poppycat

Thanks for your help

The MDF came from a old boxed fireplace when got taken out and have a log burner in thought I would save it for another day.

I remember MDF doesn't like water as we had it one round a windowsill when we had double glazing and it got wet and puffed up

The surround is wood and painted with gloss paint. We had olf hatch take down as it opened inside the loft and couldn't have a ladder fitted then so it was replaced and hatch open inside the landing now. It has a plastic catch thing to close it. We couldnt have the spring thing fitted to the ladder as it was too close to the roof. We had it fitted by a joiner

misgrace

You can use what you like, as long as the first coat is thinned quite well, as it will suck all the paint in, I would still thin the second coat as it will still carry on absorbing the paint, then do your normal coats.

Tomlad

Heres the best way to do it:

You will need some sanding sealer (not expensive), 00 grade sand paper, undercoat and overcoat spray paint (dead cheap from wilkos, 3 quid a can)

1)Sand it down until smooth.
2)Coat in sanding sealer and allow to dry (about 10 mins)
3)Repeat 1&2 3x
4)paint

If it were me I'd spray paint, but spray painting is a bit of a skill, you may get better results from tinned paints

Believe me, you don't want to paint MDF without sealing it. I teach Resistant materials at a secondary school. We use MDF a great deal so I'm speaking from experience.

Hope it goes well

Ice_2

ok and speaking from experience here...
made a new loft hatch myself out of MDF in the fall...
get yourself a small roller (radiator roller) and some professional undercoat...2.5 litre tin was £12 for me...give it a coat on both side's and around the edge's
the edge's I stood the hatch on some thick cardboard....and rolled around the 3 edge's I could get at once dry do the fourth...
then paint it in anything you want after that...

I have found that MDF only needs one coat of professional undercoat...

I also knocked up a firesurround as well with the left over's painted the same way looks nice and shiny with no mark's...

Poppycat

I just opened the loft hatch today about 3rd time since we had it fitted last week showing MIL. The hinge on it has already worked loose, I am going to have to get it replaced with a wooden hatch.