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Durable Coating for an MDF Product
Question
Forum Responses
Following are the products I use in my shop and would recommend for you, both made by ML Campbell. I also recommend using an airless gun (not air assisted, if it's legal in your area) since they can flat out lay some paint in a hurry. Magnaclaw - a pre-cat primer. Our normal choice. Good stuff. Dried to sandable finish in about 30-45 minutes. Two coats is plenty. Clawlock - the post-cat primer. Higher solids than above, tougher, easier to sand. You may eek by on one coat with this stuff if you sand the routs smooth enough. Requires Care Catalyst.
From contributor C: If I were in your position, I'd experiment with using Bullseye dewaxed shellac as a sanding sealer. It would be just one coat followed by a light sanding. This will allow a very wide range of topcoating treatments and minimize grain raising (MDF fiber swelling). You'd need to work a few samples to assure that the system does what you need and to achieve an effective and efficient procedure. It might also be good to ask one or two of your customers to try out the resulting products and give you some feedback on how it works for them. Glues are sometimes used (the white glues... Elmers, etc.), but really do not have the same level of performance that shellac does as an undercoat, and they are water based and certain to cause more fiber swelling than shellac (which means more sanding afterward). From contributor D: With the dewaxed shellac in mind, is there a water based shellac that will not cause swelling of MDF? I use water based products except when working with MDF. Usually it is primed and painted, but I would like to experiment with pigmented lacquers to get a better finish. From Paul Snyder, forum technical advisor: If you're looking for a durable paint, then you should consider a pigmented conversion varnish or catalyzed polyurethane. Here's a link to a chart that briefly compares the durability of various spray finishes. Related article: Spray Finishes It is possible to get a durable finish from a quality acrylic (aka latex/water-base) or oil-base enamel paint that you'll find at your local paint store, but the cure time is longer than the catalyzed finishes designed for spraying. And... house paints are made to be brushed or rolled, though they do spray well with an airless sprayer. Do you have any local finishing suppliers in your area (e.g., Chemcraft, Becker Acroma, ML Campbell, Sherwin Williams Chemical Coating store, etc.)? If so, any one of them can set you up with a durable primer and pigmented topcoat. They should be able to mix any color you want. Would you like to add information to this article? Interested in writing or submitting an article? Have a question about this article? Have you reviewed the related Knowledge Base areas below? 
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