staining mdf

[iamamp3pimp 5,000+ posts]

you can lay a thin veneer on the top of MDF with contact cement, and then stain that.....

 

[UCF52 10+ year member]

if you used woodglue and you did it right, then yes, youc an remove them.

cool, thanks!

Don't use the aresol type sold at wal-mart. The liner sits on top of the wood instead of aborbing in my experiences. Maybe if you rough it up with some 30 grit or something, your results may be better.

So, are you suggesting that i do not buy the aeresol (sp?) type and instead the brush applied type. And if i do buy the aeresol, rough it up to 30 grit or so. I wish there was a how-to on line-x-ing an MDF box. Also, no primer necessary for a line-x application, right?

Painting mdf is very difficult. Not difficult in action, but difficult to make it look good.

That is the reason i was searching alternative finishing methods.

 

[iamamp3pimp 5,000+ posts]

np!

 

[UCF52 10+ year member]

you can lay a thin veneer on the top of MDF with contact cement, and then stain that.....

would it be difficult to to this if my edges have a roundover?

 

[Relax 10+ year member]

would it be difficult to to this if my edges have a roundover?

You can't do compound roundovers (corners) with veneer, although it will do a single roundover (edge) fine.

Why don't you try staining MDF. It will work, the only thing is if you like how it looks. At the very least you could try it, if you don't like how it looks, paint it.

 

[Flipx99 5,000+ posts]

I will use the roll on type for any future applications. Currently, I don't bother covering boxes. They don't last very long before I build another. Home Audio, I would though.

I have seen stained mdf before. It did not look good IMO.

If you want, I can stain a scrap piece this moss green color I have. I will show you how it looks bad.

 

[UCF52 10+ year member]

yea i have compound roundovers, so veneering is out. i think i am just gonna try staining (red oak) a scrap piece to see how bad it looks. i will prob end up painting it though.

 

[Immacomputer 10+ year member]

MDF can look pretty decent when stained.

I stained this enclosure dark walnut and I think it turned out pretty decent:

I used a brush to apply the stain and it gave streaks that look similar to wood grain.

 

[BassTurd 10+ year member]

Olympic makes a graining tool to create a wood grain on painted and metal surfaces. You would start by priming the box and then use the tool with whatever stain color you wanted. I've seen it do a pretty good job on a metal door. It would probably do well on painted MDF.

http://www.ppg.com/ppgaf/olympic/igraining.htm

 

[UCF52 10+ year member]

thanks for all of the replies everybody, but i think i am going to try and paint it and see how it turns out. ill be sure to post some pics when its done.

 

[Grim 10+ year member]

Well just so you know..

You can remove the screws as said. They are only there to hold the wood together as the glue dries. However, you could do it another way

Either A. Use a Brad Nailer and then fill over the brad nails with filler or B. Dont use screws or nails and just use clamps to hold it while the wood glue dries..

 

[UCF52 10+ year member]

Well just so you know..
You can remove the screws as said. They are only there to hold the wood together as the glue dries. However, you could do it another way

Either A. Use a Brad Nailer and then fill over the brad nails with filler or B. Dont use screws or nails and just use clamps to hold it while the wood glue dries..

Thanks for the advice. Im in the process now of removing the screws and filling the holes. I would have loved to use clamps, but unfortunately (well fortunately) i am a college student and couldn't afford to purchase a bunch of clamps.

Question: Will primer set fine on wood filler??

 

[pitbull12888]

Did you sand it before you stained it? Or just slap the stain on.

 

[PV Audio 5,000+ posts]

You don't stain MDF, it will just make it a different color (brown-red glop instead of tan glop).

And to whoever said that you can't remove screws, don't comment again.

 

[PV Audio 5,000+ posts]

thanks for all of the replies everybody, but i think i am going to try and paint it and see how it turns out. ill be sure to post some pics when its done.

In that case, expect it to look like shit. Not becuase you yourself can't paint, but painting speaker enclosures isn't something that you just go and try, you spend weeks doing to get everything just right. Some lacquers used by audio companies take weeks to cure fully.