Wood for a small painted cabinet

[Peter Pfaff]

I am making a small cabinet that is going to be painted. I want it to have a nice finish, but I am not sure what wood to use. I could use all poplar and sand and paint it. Or I could use maple plywood. That would be nice and flat, but I would have to edgeband it. That will take time and may not work that well. Or I could just use MDF. I would not have to edgeband it, but would it take a good finish? Thanks.

[John TenEyck]

MDF paints beautifully. No wood grain to telegraph through the paint. You can fill the cut edges several ways; use whichever appeals best to the way you work. I use BIN white pigmented shellac based primer most of the time to prime MDF; no water to cause fuzziness.

John

[Peter Pfaff]

Good to know. That is the easiest option.

Peter

[Andrew Seemann]

All of those would work, as would soft maple. The MDF will want to soak up paint, so make sure you use a good primer to seal/size it. My inclination would be to use poplar, soft maple, or MDF for a project like that. Maple plywood will have a thin veneer, and edge banding or wrapping with solid wood is a pain, especially if you aren't going to see it. It is also can be hard to hide the joint between the banding and plywood edge.

People dog MDF, but it has its uses, including things like this.

[Frank Drackman]

Soft maple is my material of choice for projects like this. It is harder than poplar & at least in my area, not much more money.

I like not having to deal with edge banding, and find solid wood much more enjoyable to work with.

[jamil mehdi]

I'm going to throw my hat in the soft maple group. First off, "soft maple" is all maple species that aren't specifically acer saccharum or sugar maple. Soft maple isn't actually soft, nor is it a single species. Soft maple also takes paint beautifully. The tight grain doesn't print through the paint. (New growth) Poplar on the other hand, dents simply by looking at it. Poplar holds paint well, but doesn't survive usage.

In my region, soft maple is about $1.40 bf, but it can be $5.00 bf or more on the west coast. If you have the option, soft maple is your best and most economical choice for painted cabinets

[Peter Pfaff]

OK. I would not have considered soft pine. I would have thought poplar would have been more durable. I think I am going to have to try pine and MDF and see how they look.

Thanks

[Von Bickley]

I would use birch plywood trimmed with poplar or maple.

[Richard Coers]

I hate MDF dust and I'm quickly nearing the time when I can even carry in a sheet of that stuff. Edge banded plywood or soft maple for me. Edge banding is very simple and easy. I only apply 1/8 or 3/16" thick banding, and glue and "clamp" with 3M packing tape. That tape will stretch just a little, so very easy to really pull it tight to the plywood. The banding is oversized, so easy to flush trim to the plywood. You only need to keep the tape on for around 20 minutes with original Titebond and then it's ready to work.

[Bill McNiel]

Poplar always.

[Thomas McCurnin]

MDF can have pretty crisp edges, but dents easily. Poplar would be my first choice.

[Mark Salomon]

I am making a small cabinet that is going to be painted. I want it to have a nice finish, but I am not sure what wood to use. I could use all poplar and sand and paint it. Or I could use maple plywood. That would be nice and flat, but I would have to edgeband it. That will take time and may not work that well. Or I could just use MDF. I would not have to edgeband it, but would it take a good finish? Thanks.

Poplar is always best if you're going to paint it.

[Jim Dwight]

I would not use MDF. The flat sides will take paint well but the edges are too fragile and too absorbent to not edge it IMHO. It does not hold fasteners well. It is NASTY to work with. I would use what I had on hand, plywood or solid. If I bought material I would buy whatever is cheap/easy to get. Softwood shelving boards from a home center will work fine but use shellac first or a good primer. Poplar will work well and maple is even better but I hate to paint it (but I have).

[John TenEyck]

You fill the edges of MDF before painting. If you use a filler that hardens the edges do not easily chip. After the filled edges are sanded it takes paint the same as the faces, beautifully. MDF cabinets constructed with biscuits or Dominos are plenty strong; no screws needed. Euro hinges work fine in MDF. If you are worried about screws holding just add a couple of drops of 5 minute epoxy or Superglue to the holes when you drive the screws.

Unlike many materials MDF starts flat and stays flat. You just have to adapt your methods a little to get the best out of it. I wouldn't want to cut it w/o a good DC system, however.

John

[Jon Endres]

My house is full of pine furniture, most of which are painted to give off that 'farmhouse rustic' look that my wife seems to love. ie. several layers of milk paint in different colors, sanded to reveal different layers, or part paint/part clear finish. So I would go with pine, which is in abundance near me. Poplar and soft maple are also good choices, although I have a hard time painting maple or any other nice hardwood.

[Jamie Buxton]

..Unlike many materials MDF starts flat and stays flat...

Not in my experience. If you stand a sheet of MDF against a wall it sags toward the wall, and after a couple of weeks it takes a set. That is, it loses its flatness fairly easily. It can get un-flat in distribution and retailing. What arrives at my shop may or may not be flat. And if any MDF offcuts hang around my shop for more than a couple weeks, it certainly won't be flat.

[John TenEyck]

Not in my experience. If you stand a sheet of MDF against a wall it sags toward the wall, and after a couple of weeks it takes a set. That is, it loses its flatness fairly easily. It can get un-flat in distribution and retailing. What arrives at my shop may or may not be flat. And if any MDF offcuts hang around my shop for more than a couple weeks, it certainly won't be flat.

I've never had a warped sheet. You do have to store it flat or vertically; nature of the material. Like I said, if you adapt to the material it works well. In use, I've never had a panel warp; can't say the same for plywood, or solid wood.

John

[Jamie Buxton]

I've never had a warped sheet. You do have to store it flat or vertically; nature of the material. Like I said, if you adapt to the material it works well. In use, I've never had a panel warp; can't say the same for plywood, or solid wood.

John

Never seen it warp in service? I once made shop shelving with MDF. The stuff sagged like crazy. I expected that, but my budget was tight. But even I was surprised at how badly it sagged.

[lowell holmes]

I would go to a hardwood lumber company and pick something. It is fun to shop. They may also have advice.

[John TenEyck]

Never seen it warp in service? I once made shop shelving with MDF. The stuff sagged like crazy. I expected that, but my budget was tight. But even I was surprised at how badly it sagged.

Jamie, with all due respect, that's a completely inappropriate use for MDF. You knew it, too.

John

[Peter Pfaff]

Lots of good points. I too think MDF is flat, but as was said it is kind of nasty to work with. Also, can you get a softer edge with MDF. I am thinking pine or poplar can offer nicer edges and still be easy to work with. Kind of looking at plywood and edge banding too. Time to compare some prices. Thanks.

Peter

[Jamie Buxton]

Jamie, with all due respect, that's a completely inappropriate use for MDF. You knew it, too.

John

True. But to make the point the other way round, you're saying MDF never warps -- as long as you never put it in a situation where it might warp.

[John TenEyck]

True. But to make the point the other way round, you're saying MDF never warps -- as long as you never put it in a situation where it might warp.

Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying. Put another way, you have to understand the properties of the materials you use and stay within their limits. FWIW, plywood and solid wood will bow, too, if you make a shelf long enough and stack enough weight on it. Just look at the sagging shelves in law office libraries. And glass shelves will break. Does that mean they are poor choices? Not if you use them within their limits.

John