Sealing and stainging MDF...

[djkav]

Hi there,

Im making some shelves out of MDF.

I have white primer to seal the MDF. Can I use a woodstain or stained varnish directly on top of this white primer?

The primer is acrylic.

Many thanks

 

[Robbie uk]

If you put a stain or stained varnish over white primer it will look awful. If you want it to have a stained look you cannot put a white primer on first. The stain will not cover the primer to give you the stained look that you are after. The MDF needs to be coated first in something clear to seal it so that it can be rubbed down afterwards and then stained/varnished. MDF has no grain so will just look a sort of brown colour, if thats what you want. Are you going to use oil based paint or water based. ?

 

[djkav]

Thanks for your reply.

Thats what I originally thought. So it would probably be better to paint it in a matt finish in some tasteful neutral colour?

 

[Robbie uk]

Personally i would give them a coat of primer and let it dry and rub it down. Then apply two coats of Satinwood in a colour that matches your decor.

 

[opps]

I know some people that apply the stain directly to the mdf first and then varnish the mdf