How to paint MDF with your own hands

Painting medium-density fiberboard (MDF) can be a satisfying do-it-yourself project that turns unfinished boards into elegant, polished surfaces. The secret to getting a professional-looking finish when painting MDF is understanding how to do it correctly, whether you’re updating furniture, making custom shelves, or adding a decorative touch to your walls.

Painting MDF is something that many people are afraid to do because they think it will be too difficult or that the outcome won’t be satisfactory. However, painting MDF is easy and can be done by anyone with basic tools and a little patience if they prepare properly and follow a few easy techniques.

We’ll walk you through each step of painting MDF successfully in this guide. You’ll find all the information you need to complete the task correctly, from choosing the appropriate supplies to prepping the surface and painting. Let’s get started and transform those basic MDF boards into something really exceptional.

Features of MDF

The majority of individuals who intend to construct a country home, perform repairs, or create built-in furniture are curious about the answer to the question, "What is the difference between MDF and chipboard?" Although they have a similar appearance, the performance characteristics differ as well because of the different production technologies.

In contrast, the following brief instruction is provided to you:

With its stronger structure and ability to tolerate higher humidity levels, MDF essentially never deforms with time. For this reason, factories now only use MDF when making cabinets and upholstered furniture. We’ll discuss painting MDF and chipboard facades in a different chapter, but the technology is similar.

Kindly take note! Here, we are discussing built-in interior facades and furniture. Finishing external walls does not involve the use of either material! OSB boards, which are entirely impermeable to moisture, are used to cover the exteriors of houses. The composition contains polymer resins, which give them these characteristics.

MDFs, or medium density fiberboards, are popular in both the furniture industry and the manufacture of materials used for interior finishing. These are also molded products, in addition to wall and ceiling panels: slats, platbands, and MDF plinth for painting.

How amazing do laminate floors look, too? What I can say is that it’s obvious from looking at the image above that you need this material to survive in the modern world.

Standard sizes and front covering

Sheet MDF manufacturers provide a range of thicknesses and sizes of material. There are no global standards, and every business chooses what standard sizes to manufacture on its own. In the end, everything hinges on the sheets’ intended use and client demand.

• If you decide to make a cabinet, then for the back wall you can take solid pressed sheets with a thickness of only 3 mm; for the sides and front of the furniture, 10 mm is required. To build an interior partition, you need material 12-16 mm thick, and, for example, to build a shelving – 24 mm.
• Such a wide range. The dimensions of the sheets also vary, but not so much. On average, the width and length of the sheets are: 1220*2440 mm; 1830*2440 mm; 2070*2800 mm. As you can see, the dimensions allow you to cover the walls along the entire height if necessary.

• As for the finishing of their surface, the buyer always has a choice: painting MDF with his own hands or using sheets with a ready-made factory coating – and it, by the way, can be not only painted. Decorative cladding of sheet MDF is also carried out by pasting it with PVC film, lamination and veneering.
• When using such sheets, for example, for the manufacture of built-in furniture, painting of MDF facades is not required at all. If you look closely at the photo above, you can see that even the edges are already processed, and when using such a cladding material, it remains only to decorate the cuts.

The MDF surface can be decorated in ways other than just mimicking different kinds of wood. Stylized wall materials like stone, plaster, or brickwork allow for the creation of intriguing interior compositions, like the one shown in the above example. Melamine coatings are used to safeguard sheets used for wet room finishing.

Painting MDF (Medium Density Fiberboard) yourself can add a polished look to your projects and is a simple process. You can create a smooth, long-lasting coating that improves the material’s appearance and longevity by adhering to a few crucial steps: priming the surface, selecting the appropriate primer and paint, and carefully applying the paint. This tutorial will lead you through the necessary steps to guarantee the success of your do-it-yourself painting project.

Some features of wall cladding

We will briefly discuss installation nuances before discussing whether painting MDF panels is possible and what paint to use, water-dispersion compounds or enamel. Ultimately, mistakes have the potential to significantly impact the cladding’s or structural element’s geometry, rendering all of your hard work meaningless.

• To prevent this from happening, it is very important that the MDF is adapted to the microclimate of the room in which it will be used before installation. It cannot be put into use immediately after delivery from the store and unloading. In a normal dry room, it should lie for a day. If you have to sheathe a basement or an unheated attic, at least 48 hours are required for adaptation.

Installation options

The degree of wall surface preparation that you do at this point will depend on the installation option that you have chosen. There are two ways to finish the walls made of sheet MDF: adhesive and framing.

The material is mounted on the sheathing in the first instance. If the walls are uneven, the frame elements are installed on direct hangers and no special preparation is needed in this instance.

• In order to be able to mount the panels on glue, the walls must be well leveled, sanded, cleaned of dust and primed. If sheet material is used in the installation, it is glued to the base. Small-format panels can also be glued to plasterboard sheathing and even to the surface of wooden sheathing.

• Sawing of sheet and modular material is carried out with a manual or electric cutting tool. In order not to damage the factory decorative coating of the sheets, when cutting, you need to take into account the following nuances: when using a hacksaw, you should saw from the front side, and when using a circular saw – from the back.

Kindly take note! It is crucial to leave a 2 centimeter technological gap between the paneling and the ceiling during installation. This is particularly true in kitchens and bathrooms, where there are frequent changes in humidity and temperature. Without a space, the expanded material will press up against the ceiling and distort as a result. For the same reason, since lathing also offers a ventilated space, it is preferable to install on it in these rooms.

• Long and classic wall panels, as a rule, do not require any surface finishing, including sealing the seams. After covering the walls with MDF sheets, the joints are sealed by filling with a special compound, and then covered with plastic moldings.
• Sheets with a factory decorative coating can be mounted with a gap, which looks very interesting. The required distance between the ends of the panels is ensured by special cross-shaped plastic inserts. If the cladding is made of ordinary sheet material that does not have a decorative coating, then its surface must also be prepared.

Putty is not necessary for MDF since it has a high density and a relatively smooth surface. It is just given a quick light sanding with fine sandpaper and then given a pore-filling primer treatment after being cleaned of any dust. But we’ll tell you in the next chapter which paint is ideal for MDF facades and how to apply it properly.

It’s easy to paint MDF yourself, and it will make a big difference in how your project looks. You can accomplish a polished and seamless finish with the appropriate planning and supplies.

Don’t forget to properly sand the surface before applying a high-quality primer. In order to guarantee that the paint sticks well and endures over time, these procedures are essential.

Lastly, paint slowly, using light, even coats and waiting for each to completely dry before applying the next. Using this method will help you finish flawlessly and prevent streaks.

Video on the topic

How I repainted film facades

Painting MDF facades with your own hands (with a roller and brush)

High-quality grinding and painting of MDF.

Painting MDF, insulator, primer, enamel

painting milled MDF facades

Video instructions for painting furniture / kitchen facades made of MDF