Acrylic Painting (fine arts) on Furniture?

[Tom Overthere]

Yeah, I ask some odd questions, and here's another one:

1, I want to make a small painting (like something you'd see hanging in a frame) on a flat panel that is part of a cabinet.

2. The paint is artist's acrylic, the kind that comes in small tubes.

3. The panel is made of either plywood or MDF.

QUESTION 1: Can anyone suggest a primer/undercoat to use when painting the entire panel, so no wood tone is visible behind or around the edges of the painting.

QUESTION 2: Is there any typical wood furniture finish that's particularly good for painting over with acrylics? Clarification: I want to paint a design on a typical flat panel (part of a door) that has a typical wood finish. The wood finish will be visible except where I paint my design.

QUESTION 3: I'm also experimenting with "dying" the raw wood surface, using the acrylic as a transparent "wash" (like watercolor). Any suggestions for a wood finish that'll protect the paint as well as the wood? 'Anything I should should know Polyurethane coatings related to this application...good or bad?

Thanks