I know its possible to powder coat mdf in the industrial applications. I have been searching around but haven’t really found if this can be done in a DIY scenario.
I make a lot of mdf cutouts that have many curves and small areas that are hard to spray paint without getting too much paint on other areas.
The goal is to find a easier, faster process than spray paint that gives a even consistent finish.
Powder coating seems like a possibility but maybe not.
Id be interested to see a diy solution. The industrial methods are very difficult. They do have colored pdf now that might work for you.
Thanks guys. I spent some more time looking around last night but it doesn’t look like its going to fit my needs.
I got the idea from videos like this.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c86FzNKeQZM
I’ll have to figure something else out to get my cutouts painted faster.
That’s what I’ve done for certain materials. I did MDF once, didn’t like how it turned out since the paint is stronger than the material. I hot coated glass a few times, that turned out awesome.
Maybe an assembly line with an HVLP sprayer?
Wow, their lungs must be toast (cough).
Wouldn’t that lock the water in? Even if it was a small amount, I would be concerned that the water would warp the MDF over time.
If wood hardener is used on the MDF it will seal the wood and give it a smooth plastic-like finish. From there it’s pretty easy to get a good hard coating. Acrylic as you mentioned would be perfect.
I guess the problem that I am trying to overcome is getting paint inside very small areas, such as the “e”
Here is what I currently do.
Spray all edges and inside all the small areas. (Usually putting too much paint on the top where the “e” is)
Wait for it to dry and sand off all the excess and spray the face.
I generally get a good consistent coverage and sheen after this.
Now, if we look at this made in china piece.
The paint is flawless, every single nook and cranny from every possible angle is painted perfectly.
Do you think this is being doing in an industrial spray scenario or some other way?
get a bucket and just dunk it in the paint.
I suspect the dip method is how the china products are done. I am thinking a very thin mix dipped multiple times.
Dip it, (or brush it)
Sand it,
Spray it.
An airbrush might work better to get into those small spaces as well. I have found that it is best to spray those small detail areas first. Then come back and do the larger areas. When I do the larger areas first I tend to get to much when getting the small areas and end up with runs. If you can get those small areas to look good, you can always sand the outside larger areas down when the small areas are complete. This will allow a nice Solid even coat on the face surface with less chances of runs because you are not fighting to get into the tight spots.
For the small areas what I’ve found that works is spraying a little puddle on a piece of plastic, then using a small brush to paint it in the small areas. Then paint on the top like normal. That way the all areas match and are covered.
Another thing to try to spray the smaller areas from the back side. all the excess build up would then be on the back, and can be scraped or sanded before applying the top layers.
Of course, if the project is double sided, this wouldnt matter much!
