Painting Cabinets | Get a Smooth Finish on MDF
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 10 ก.ย. 2022
- Big thanks to SimpliSafe for sponsoring this video! Save 20% on your system and your first month is free when you sign up for interactive monitoring. Visit www.simplisafe.com/april to learn more! Try SimpliSafe risk-free. It will be delivered straight to your door - no service appointment required! If you don’t love it, return it for a full refund within 60 days.
My Entire Collection of Project Plans: bit.ly/3A6MzqH
Subscribe: bit.ly/3gfe5YL | Website: wilkerdos.com
Watch the newest videos: bit.ly/3hBOdaf
Things I Used in This Project:
Front + Center - Doors and Refacing Supplies: myfrontandcenter.com/ (use code aprilpaint for 20% off!)
Wagner FLEXiO 3500: bit.ly/3J319kp
ISOtunes Hearing Protection: bit.ly/WilkerDos (use code APRIL for 10% off)
Primers for MDF
-Zinsser's BIN is my favorite because it dries fastest and sands easiest. But I also like Kilz Original and Zinsser Cover Stain. All of these are solvent-based, so cleanup is a pain.
-Both Zinsser and Kilz have a few versions of water-based stain-blocking primers. They clog sandpaper more than solvent-based products. But I still use them when I want easy cleanup.
-Instead of primer, some people use water-based polyurethane (such as Minwax Polycrylic) to seal MDF. It dries fast and sands very well. But it's not really a primer and paint may not adhere to it as well.
Website: www.wilkerdos.com
Patreon: www.patreon.com/user?u=257047
Instagram: / wilker_dos
Facebook: / wilkerdos
Manufacturing and retail site: hillcountrywoodshed.com/
Want to support me? Support the companies that support me:
Triton Tools: bit.ly/2jaC0dD
ISOtunes: bit.ly/2YuZBtr
Armor Tool: bit.ly/2PjJuKJ
Welcome to the official April Wilkerson TH-cam channel. I’m April and I’m the creator of Wilker Do’s. I'm not professional or have any training, so I just pick the project I want to tackle and figure it out step by step. On this channel you will find a variety of content like DIY home improvement, How-To’s, construction and more. - แนวปฏิบัติและการใช้ชีวิต
![Painting MDF Doors [video 407]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/ZIwNJGlVtwc/mqdefault.jpg)
![Painting MDF Doors [video 407]](/img/tr.png)
Perfect timing April, thank you. I’ve just built some built in wardrobes in our bedroom and am making the doors from mdf! Needed this as a sanity check to save ruining hours of work!
yess! good luck, you've got this!
I learned 16 yrs ago that when you have cut edges of mdf it soaks up paint like a sponge. To keep that from happening you mix a 50/50 mixture of titebond glue and water and paint that on to the cut edges. Allow that to soak in and dry. Lightly sand that and now you have a surface that is sealed and it will accept paint just as nicely as the uncut paper surfaces!
Great tip for a beginner like me. Are you saying that you did that INSTEAD OF priming and put the color paint on top of that?
@@daveparker839 it has been several years but as i recall I carved my custom waincoting on my cnc then i took the mixture of 50/50 titebond/water painted the cut surfaces, let dry, sanded lightly and then i think i used a primer/paint in one (or just a paint) and sprayed it on. The titebond mix makes it fell like an eggshell after sanding lightly and you just spray/paint over that. I recall before doing that the paint would just be absorbed like a sponge.
1 gal of Titebond = ~$22+ while 1 gal of Kilz stainblock primer = ~$13. Would be nice to see a comparison between the two.
@@mcouture8169 Keep in mind you are diluting the mixture by 50% with water and you are only covering the cut edges. You would not need a whole gallon. Even if you are doing a whole kitchen i'd bet a small bottle would be enough.
@@daveparker839 50/50 water/glue (glue sizing), sand, prime, then paint. The problem with DIY glue sizing is the glue is much harder than the raw MDF and can create a nightmare if done incorrectly. Read my long winded post below.
I usually just play a propane torch lightly over machined mdf after sanding to eliminate fuzz. Catalyzed lacquer paints give the glassy smooth finish that some clients prefer, but I've also had requests lately for a brushed finish on painted cabinets to give a "handmade" look. Good video, keep em coming!
Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it.
An Informative video on painting MDF!
Well done, April!
A lot of great tips. Thank you April for taking the time out out of your busy schedule.
Glad it was helpful!
Great job April, thanks for the excellent advice and showing how it's done. Stay safe and keep up the great videos. Fred.
I appreciate that, thank you! Thank you for watching!
Hi April,
Excellent paint job. Thanks for showing the sprayer you used and well as the paint Magnolia Home by Joanna Gaines. Chip and Joanna have an awesome cable channel Magnolia Network. You and your family stay safe.
Thank you! I am flipping some old mdf nightstands and they had the classic water damaged bubbling on the finished layer. I sanded them down but they still had the fuzziness. They are now primed and ready to be sanded again. Thanks again!
Awesome! Glad you found this useful. Thanks for watching.
So many great tips & tricks! Great job, April! 😊
Glad it was helpful!
This was super helpful I had so many questions that were answered about priming and painting mdf. Thanks!
Watered down wood glue works well for sealing the edges. It also seems to toughen up the corners. I usually end up wiping a thin layer across the faces with a plastic spreader as well. It beats mdf soaking up all your paint.
Great tip!
Great suggestions on how to treat MDF edges both in the video and comments. I've always taken my finger and wiped on a thin layer of drywall joint compound on the edges of MDF. Only takes a light sanding to get it smooth and of course takes paint well.
Excellent suggestion! Thanks for sharing and for watching.
Thanks for all the tips on painting MDF! Your cabinet doors came out looking great!
Glad you like them!
Your videos are always great. I love seeing what your next project is.
Glad you like them!
Another video crammed with great tips and how to explanations. Thanks for sharing this one with us.
Glad you enjoyed it!
I have always been shy of MDF because of the "Fuzz Factor". So I normally use plywood. However, I do realize MDF is actually the better choice of material sometimes. So all of your useful tips will come in handy the next time I tackle a project using MDF.
I'm glad the information is useful for you. Thank you for watching!
We love these tips and technique! Nice work with your Wagner FLEXiO sprayer!
Thanks so much!
Very cool April🤙🏾💯 Thanks for sharing...
Like always you do a wonderful job of explaining the hard to explain!!
Glad you think so!
I appreciate all the research you put into the subject matter of your videos April! You do the research so we don't have to... Thanks!!!
But it’s wrong! She hasn’t researched it or worked with much mdf! You can definitely remove the fuzz by progressing through the grades of paper finishing with 600 grit and you can sand the face with 600 or 1000 grit AND you should wear a mask while sanding and spraying! Sorry but she’s got this wrong on so many levels.
@@steve.-007 Sounds like you have work with MDF a lot. Thanks for the useful information. I'm trying to learn more about how to use MDF. Thanks!
Just want people to have the right info and stay safe ,wear a mask when sanding mdf and spray painting
This will help with my arcade cabinets.
Great video April. Happy Sunday! 😀
Thank you! You too!
If you are painting MDF, you might what to try MDO (Medium Density Overlay) which has a paper coating which takes paint a lot better. Furthermore, an alcohol based primer works great!
Always love your videos April. Thanks for the tips.
Glad you like them!
just finished a job that included mdf... now I know what to do next time! The fuzzies suck if you don't know how to work with them! Thanks for the tips! :)
Thanks for showing the sprayer. I have looked at many airless spraying systems and been warned most don't work very well with acrylics. That Wagner looks pretty smooth.
Thank you for watching!
when spraying acrylics use Floetrol it does wonders with water bases coatings ** although it will retard drying but it helps to get a showroom finish
Actually I’m in the middle of this right now and was questioning the procedure I came up with to paint mine. They will have stained wood pieces together in the frame so I couldn’t assemble then paint. I’d never get the edges the wood slides into cleanly. So I’m painting disassembled MDF frames I made and once assembled I can sand the glue and mess off the face and repaint as the centers are inset. But the edge the centers slide into shouldn’t need repainted so no paint on the inserts! But prepping the MDF with Zinsser and then sanding all the pieces in prep for the kettle black finish I began to wonder if I was messing this up. Found your video and see you do yours the same way. I too was worried about the edge fuzz but figured the Zinsser would fill that and sanding would make it smooth. And you confirmed this for me. Thanks for the video!!
Thanks April , always great content and absolutely love you on Assembly.... you look fabulous
Thank you so much!
Awesome pointers. You are a real craftsperson. I even like to read comments as they are helpful also.
Thank you! I like reading through the comments too...viewers always have great tips.
Thanks for sharing your method April! 😃👍🏻👊🏻
My pleasure!!
Hi April. Everything that I need to renew my cabinets. I'm fixing them and this video came as cake. Thanks a lot.
Glad it was helpful!
Finished my MDF cabinets in August using your methods and it was a great success. I had a good result using Zinsser BIN shellac-based primer. I have become a huge fan of shellac. It's like painting with liquor-infused milk. You almost want to drink it. The dried texture is great and paint really adheres to it. I don't have a sprayer, so I used flocked rollers. But yeah, cleanup is a nightmare. When you're done for the day, it's better to seal up your roller inside your shellac can. Then my topcoat was Benjamin Moore Advance. Your method is great--the only thing I might suggest is using tack cloth to get off every speck of dust between coats.
How did you like the BMA paint. I am redoing my flat 1973 solod wood kitchen cabinets. I'm adding MDF trim to make shaker style doors. I will then paint.
I use this method as well! Exact same products with excellent results. In order to help with clean up, I buy Zinsser BIN shellac-based primer in a spray can just for the MDF edges, then traditional water-based primer for the smooth surfaces. Best of both worlds and minimizes the clean up. Otherwise, shellac requires ammonia for clean up.
thanks for sharing your knowledge so we don`t have to guess and be better educated of our options ! Cheers April !
Glad it was helpful!
Thanks for the tips. Useful video from a great woodworker.
Glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for watching.
Hello from England April,I’ve been a carpenter for 30 years and you can definitely get rid of the Fuzz ,I work down the grades 120,240,320 and finish with 600 wet and dry which gives the edges a really smooth finish comparable to the face,I also use 600 to sand the primer and even 1000 for a super smooth finish,you should give it try I’m sure you’ll be pleased 😊.
Steve, you are correct. But, save yourself time on the edges and just do 400 grit. If doing flat or low gloss, stay with the 400. Higher gloss use the 600. Anything over 600, your losing mechical bond. Unless your using lacquer which would provide a chemical bond, but even 400 is overkill for lacquer.
Thanks for the stand off idea. Also I had always wondered about the electric sprayers.
Great! Glad you found it useful. Thanks for watching.
The fluffy edges have always done my head in, thanks for sharing April 👍 much appreciated 😊
You are so welcome!
Great job showing how to finish mdf doors. I have been finishing mdf doors for just over 10 years. My proces is :
-150 for all machined areas
- 320 for entire door
- prime using mlcampbell level primer. This primer can be applied very heavily reducing or even removing the need for multiple coats
- sand primer with 320 or fine sanding sponge
- use tack cloth and compresed air to remove dust.
Then apply final coat of paint. In my case that is mlcambell turino.
The coatings I use are solvent based
You might want to try sanding down to 600 grit on both the face and edges,ends up really really smooth 😊
If you want a perfect edge finish, you can also get paintable iron on edging made for MDF. I've used it a few times, it's amazing stuff and very cheap.
this by far is the fastest way of painting mdf edges.
Very interesting and I may have to try this out.
Thanks April! Love the CNC content!
Thanks! Glad you enjoy my channel. Thank you for your generosity and for watching.
Thanks, great video and tutorial, and those cabinets look great!
Glad you like them!
Thank you, April, for the tips in painting kitchen cabinets. I will definitely work on my cabinets next summer. You are awesome as usual.
Glad it was helpful!
Wow I love the attention to detail, learned something new . Thumbs up and subbed
Awesome, thank you!
April. I absolutely love watching a laundry room make over as I’m from the United Kingdom and it’s not often you see a laundry room unless you have some good money behind you.
I never knew that laundry rooms weren't really a big thing over there!
@@AprilWilkerson our houses are to small. Washing machines tend to live in the kitchen
@@AprilWilkerson yes. Sadly our houses aren’t big enough for one over here. Even though we have two story homes they are way to small to fit a laundry room in. Unless like I said you have enough money behind you to have that option or to add a room extension
Perfect timing. About to start a project myself. Very helpful.
If it's something you live with and plan to keep for a long time, do yourself a favor and use Baltic birch plywood, yes it cost more up front but it will last a lifetime, MDF and rangerboard are a 5 year investment,
@@geoffreymills9932 Great advice. Thx.
Great to hear! Enjoy your project!
Looks great! Always great information! Very helpful!!!
Glad it was helpful!
It’s the wrong information!
Watched “Assembly Required” and was hoping it would be renewed, then I stumbled on “More Power” and have binge watched it. I like it better because you have a greater role and get much more screen time. You are great in front of the camera. Sorry, Tim, but April has it.
Thanks! The Show was such a blast to film. Thanks for watching.
Thanks for sharing those tips and the make!
You are so welcome! Glad you found it useful. Thanks for watching.
BIN primer is great for more than just MDF, prime, light sand with 320 or 400, and wipe down, and your ready for most any paint
Just a note, Zinser is a tinted shellac with an *alcohol* base and typically dries in 10-15 minutes for sealer coats. Shellac has been my favorite sealer for years.
I was about to say the same. Alcohol evaporates fast and that's why this primer dries so fast.
Thanks April, great info as usual.
Glad you enjoy my channel. Thanks for watching.
first time iget idea about paintaing thank you for your effort with great love
So nice of you, thank you for watching!
I thank you for your compliments - you are really a working woman who is useful to yourself and others without compliment - and a woman with a good heart - and I thank you for your work that you provide ------
Thanks! Glad you enjoy my channel. Thanks for watching.
Great idea with the standoffs at 5:13. Except for the close proximity between fingers and nailer. I've seen a few people put a brad nail through their finger when the nail bends and comes out the side of the wood.
Lol. I've been bit like that more than once...mostly because I mis-forgot the right way to shoot brad nails 😂
Excellent work on the cabinets! But you must use a respirator when spraying any paint or primer
Nice video!! I’ll be painting mdf soon as part of a kitchen project
Thank you for watching!
A big thank you for sharing your expertise.
Glad it was helpful!
I tend to seal my MDF with Shellac or Sanding Sealer, but sealing primer works as well :)
Very informative thank you!
Great informative video, I have learnt a lot from this!
Glad it was helpful! Thanks for watching.
The Mike Farrington double tapered tablesaw sanding disk works great on machined edges of MDF.
Very nice April!!
Thank you!
I've been painting for 25 years and I have to say this is the most comprehensive and correct video on how to do a project like this. My only critique would be MDF is absolute garbage and cabinets it looks good in the short term but it doesn't hold up in the long term I've had to repair so many older MDF cabinets because they can't handle the long-term abuse.
You suggest thermafoil doors? Will also peel in time. Mfd will not. You suggest soild wood doors? Will crack over time. Mdf will not.
Your correct . When I hear it's better than wood , Wrong .MDF Worthless. at best.
I use an ETS 125 with the edge guide to get perfect edges on MDF. A light pass after priming gives a great surface finish
Great tip!
Brilliant Video April! Great process steps. Wonderful editing. Educational + concise. Wow! 😉
Glad you liked it!!
Excelente trabajo!!!
Y qué linda chica!!
Felicitaciones por ambas carácteríticas!!!
Muchas gracias!
That was great April.
Whenever I paint MDF it turns out rubbish
I can't wait to try some of your technicues
Cabinet carcasses! 😂 Love it!
Excelente April yo también trabajo el MDF 👍🙏
Oil base is oil base. It takes longer to dry. Water base raises the grain more. More sanding after priming. Shellac is alcohol base. It drys quickly and can be recoated after 15 minutes or so depending on humidity and air temperature.
I like the Wager Sprayer you use in this video! I need one like that! Also, multiple comments help your video rate higher. Just trying to help you out April! 😊😉
I appreciate you! Thank you for commenting and watching!
Thank you for this video. I recently bought a dilapidated 1946 radio that’s in the shape of a Swiss chalet. Carcass is mdf and a lot of the finish is missing.
I hope you enjoy your project!
Great process April! Thanks for sharing! Are there other materials you would recommend instead of using MDF? Just curious 😉👍
If I am repainting mdf do I need to sand and prime or can I apply the primer on top of the paint that is already there?
Thanks for the great video! Do you thin your primer and paint? I just got the same paint sprayer
Just for fun: I build arcades out of 3/4" MDF and the best way I've found is to mix 1:5 wood glue to water. Simply use a foam brush on all your cuts. You'll notice that the glue/water mix is a bit bubbly off the foam brush. The bubbles will disappear as the water medium carries the wood glue into the MDF. Instead of a fuzzy finish, you'll end up with a rock hard surface made of the fuzz and glue. Next, just hit it with 120g and the edges and the cuts will me much harder and will resist denting, which the primer won't be able to do. If you want it smoother, remember that the water has allowed the glue to seep into the MDF so, you have a bit for sanding left. I use this technique since I install t-molding to all the arcade edges which requires a 1/16" slot cut in the middle of the 3/4" edges (scariest router bit I own). This allows more support and resists denting even though the 3/4" has been halved with a 1/16" slot in them. I didn't create this technique, I learned it. But, I try to spread it around as much as possible.
Awesome! Thanks for the great tips and for watching.
I get rid of fuzz using wood glue mixed with water. Your cabinets look great. Thank you.👍
Awesome! Thank you!
Lovely as always. Great info
Glad you enjoyed it
@@AprilWilkerson always
Thanks for the information, always stayed away from MDF for that reason.
You're welcome and thank you for watching!
Amazing video. Well done.
Thank you very much!
Excellent video.Thank you.
Thanks!
Super helpful! Thank you🥰
Thanks! Glad you found it useful. Thanks for watching.
Hi April.
Do you have any videos/tips on making these shaker style mdf doors?
Thanks
Hallo, das sind immer wieder interessante Videos! 😍👍👍👍
Thanks! I'm glad you enjoy my channel. Thanks for watching.
Excellent job! What type of painting did you use? my English is not good! thank you !!
Very helpful thanks!
Thank you for watching!
great video, thanks !
Glad you liked it!
Spraying cabinet doors. So far I have primed both sides and painted one side of everything. Just noticed that one of the larger doors has cupped slightly.
Any way to straighten it? Will it relax after painting the other side? Have put so much work into these and now this. Am I screwed?
Trick to mdf edges is stack one side of same sized fronts clamprd together and sand to 320. Rotate till you sand all sides. Now you have all sides ready for prime. BIN is easily cleaned up with ammonia quickly. Best sandaled primer.
Thanks for sharing and for watching.
Thanks for the tips. I use MDF whenever possible and the edges have always been a problem.
You are so welcome!
Sand down to 600 grit👍
Very interesting video April. Thank you. I have to tell you how much I enjoyed watching More Power with Tim Allen, Richard Karn and you April. Can you tell me if there’s going to be any more episodes made?
Glad you enjoyed it! It was such a blast to film. As soon as I hear anything, I'll make an announcement. Thanks for watching.
@@AprilWilkerson thank you for your reply
i liked to use a laquer based primer,,,,,really seals the edges and dries very fast,,,,,very easy to sand too....then a tinted laquer or conversion varnish for the finish,,,,,comes out looking like a car finish
Thank you. Excellent advise.
Glad it was helpful!
Is the prize a scam? SAure makes me nervous to see things like that?????
People in my CNC group recommended Shelac, sand, and then paint. Seems to work great. I wonder if primer is any different.
I'm a custom cabinet maker and can say for sure that there's a lot wrong with these instructions. For one, if you lay all your parts together like that, how do you get your edges? Two, your getting overspray all over adjacent parts. Three, using house paints has no durability and dry to slow as airborne dust particles will stick to them. I use a quality lacquer that flashes in under a minute, a good quality air assist spray gun that allows you to control the spray fan size and control the amount of product being sprayed. I paint each part individually. I first turn down the fan to almost a O and with more air then product I spray the edges. The air forces the paint into the pores and the light volume of product prevents paint sag. I then dial up the spray fan and coat the surface with heavier product volume with about a 50% overlap. When dry I sand the edges flip to the other side and repeat the process doing the edges and the surface. This way the edges get a coat of paint every time you flip the part getting twice as much paint applied.
Interesting. I kind of learned these through trial and error, particularly the sanding/fuzzy texture issue. I decided to just try priming it with blocking primer and then sanding it (like when painting damaged Sheetrock) and it worked great.
You need a vinyl primer for MDF but it won't matter in 5 years because it's garbage anyway
Depending on where it is, that "garbage" may be just fine. My cabinets in my laundry room, MDF is great and will last. Thanks for watching.
I used killz on my bathroom mdf cabinet doors 15 years ago because they had a bit of water damage on the bottom and they still look great today. I sanded back into proper shape, applied killz, sanded down the fuzzies, killzed it again, and painted with regular white paint. Haven had the first issue. Also not much on TH-cam back then lol
ty april
Thank you for watching!
I'm about to start re-painting MDF cabinets. The old paint is peeling bad. Any big tips about this workflow? I plan to sand away the old paint, use premium wood filler to smooth small areas, prime it with zinssers bin primer, sand it again, cover with cabinet paint using a paint sprayer I just purchased. Any tips help, thanks!
Great job!!! I recently bought a sprayer but am scared to use in the garage, scared of overspray. How do you manage overstay when spraying cabinet doors the way you did?
We sell spray shelters that can help with that so you can spray in your garage without fear of overspray
I 2k clear (spraymax) everything to keep that paint job looking good works over oil or latex just let the base coat throughly cure. Water based 2k works just as well just takes longer to set and cure.
Excelente trabalho
Parabéns tudo o que vc faz é maravilhoso.
Aw thanks! Glad you enjoy it. Thanks for watching.
My Flexio could do oil based and very thin water based finishes. No chance it will to interior latex or a water base cabinet/trim enamel.