sealing MDF

[Yeller]

I'm going to use MDF for the side and end bath panels. Can this be sealed before I varnish it? Or would I be better painting it to create a seal?

Thanks.

[Dave Fawthrop]

| I'm going to use MDF for the side and end bath panels. | Can this be sealed before I varnish it? Or would I be better painting it to | create a seal?

MDF is a poor choice for damp environments, even sealed. Exterior ply would withstand the damp better, it could also be thin to keep the cost down.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Wouldn't varnished MDF look odd?

[Steven Campbell]

Not at all. I'm in the middle of decorating the hall and replaced an old cupboard door with some MDF and varnished it. It varnishes up just like wood.

[The3rd Earl Of Derby]

't take this the wrong way but that door looks as if it was made for a pygmy, looks a bit odd with the doorknob on it.

-- Sir Benjamin Middlethwaite

[Steven Campbell]

=ph

Considering it is a cupboard under the stairs that is about 4ft high, you might be right.

[The3rd Earl Of Derby]

> =ph

Of course its a cupboard but it dont look like a cupboard door, it gives the impression of a small person lives in there. :-)

-- Sir Benjamin Middlethwaite

[Steven Campbell]

>> =ph

How do cupboard doors look then? I'm curious ;o) I think you have been reading to many Hans Christian Anderson books!!! Wee people don't actually live in cupboards. They live at the bottom of the garden ;o)

[John Rumm]

surprisingly not...

The other day I wanted to make some DVD shelves in a hurry (as you do) and could not find much laying about in the workshop except some 3/4" MDF. So I ripped strips off that, routed a Roman ogee profile onto the leading edge, and mounted three of them on to a couple of vertical bits of 2x1" (profiled a bit, and rebated to take the back edge of the shelves - add a 3" screw through the back of the uprights into a hole drilled into the back edge of the shelf and you get a nice almost invisible support for the shelf).

To finish it I used a couple of coats of water based quick drying oak varnish applied with a slightly coarse brush (i.e. one that had not been cleaned well enough last time!). The brush marks left, closely resemble wood grain. So if you are consistent in the direction of brush strokes you get a reasonably "woody" looking result. I was not too fussed about the actual look since they were soon to be hidden under their intended payload, but the result was a whole lot better than I expected, and no one who has seen them so far has suspected they are not real wood.

[Chris Bacon]

Um, sorry, I agree - is that some sort of moulding tacked on?

[The3rd Earl Of Derby]

>>> =ph

I think if you go the bottom of your garden you'll see a 'for sale' notice on the rock...they now live under your stairs. :-)

-- Sir Benjamin Middlethwaite

[john]

The hinges look a bit ancient and well painted!

[vonryan]

WOW this is well off topic you can seal mdf with a product calle

sanding sealer mine is made by Liberon and most diy shops sell it, bu if your going to varnish it just put a couple of coats on it, includin all the cut edges and the back

I do agree that MDF in a bathroom isn't a good idea thoug

-- vonryan

[Steven Campbell]

Cheers.