painting MDF w/o primer?

[Ah10201]

i have to paint some MDF but ran out of primer. Has anyone painted MDF without primer, and if so, does it make a huge difference?

thanks

[David]

Yes, you pretty much NEED to use primer.

David

Ah10201 wrote:

[Leon]

I have never primed MDF before painting. I have a customer that buys houses restores the kitchens and sells the houses. I rebuild the kitchen drawers and door fronts out of MDF and he sprays them with out primer. They look fine to me. That said however he does spray several coats. I only put on one coat when painting with a brush. I suggest that you try it on a few scraps to see if the difference will be significant enough to warrant priming the rest of the job.

[rcook5]

Go get some more primer. The way that stuff drinks paint it will be cheaper in the long run. I have some MDF modular cabinets I painted without priming years ago. I ended up paying more for the paint than I did for the cabinets.

(They've held up well, however.)

--RC

"You Know Things Are Weird When Arnold Schwartznegger Is Governor of California, Ronald Reagan Is One Of Our Most Beloved Ex-Presidents, And John Kerry Is Running For President On His Vietnam War Record"

[David]

Ok...so I won't bore you with the too-numerous-to-mention expert's opinions who advise priming MDF before painting. I'm surprised you've had ANY luck with painting MDF without a primer. But hey, I'm sure there's plenty more things I don't understand!

David

Le>

[Slowhand]

Depends what type of paint you are using. I typically use laquer or enamel spray paint so I always prime so I can sand out any blemishes. To answer your question directly, no, you don't have to prime. But you will probably need more coats of whatever finish you are using. SH

[Leon]

In all fairness, I don't think there is a paint company out there that dies not recommend a primer first coat on a new surface. But, they are in the business of selling paint. ;~)

[Andy Dingley]

How easy is it to get more ? You can manage without (of course), but you'll use more paint without priming it, and to get a decent finish you'll use a _lot_ more paint.

As always with MDF, avoid anything water-based until there's a good seal on the surface - otherwise you raise fibres like crazy.

[David]

:) They'll probably sell MORE paint to the guy who opts to skip the primer. But hey, if you can get MDF looking good without priming it first, I'm not gonna get stressed.

David

Le>

[Leon]

The just might do that.