Todd Burch's Painted Bookcase

[Dennis McDonaugh]

Todd,

Do you ever route a profile on the edge of MDF? And if you do, how do you prepare them for painting?

[Todd Burch]

Hi Dennis. Sorry it took me so long to reply - I've been in Albuquerque - just got back.

Yes, I route edges on MDF. To prepare then for painting, I use aproduct from ML Campbell called CLAWLOCK. It is a primer/undercoater. It is fairly high solids.

After I route, I shoot a heavy coat of clawlock on the edges. After that dries for about 30 minutes or so, I use 220 Fre-Cut sandpaper to smooth out the clawlock and to break off the now brittle MDF "hairs" that clawlock has frozen in place on end. It's pretty amazing. After the first coat, the routed edges really don't look like they have received enough primer. They are somewhat white (the color of clawlock), but they are real fuzzy with MDF colored "hairs" sticking up. After you sand those hairs off, what's left is a lot of white primer. And, it sands off VERY quickly. 2-3 coats of that primer, and you have an excellent base for paint.

Todd.

[Todd Burch]

Dennis, here's a picture of the chest of drawers that I completed recently (shown incomplete). This was after the first few coats of oil base. It shows the rather large table-top edge profile I did the top of the dresser.

(The final paint job was better than what is shown in the reflected light.)

Hope this helps. Todd.

[Dennis McDonaugh]

Thanks Todd, the edges look great. Where can I find CLAWLOCK?

[Todd Burch]

ML Campbell website is

ML Campbell Website (http://www.mlcampbell.com/pages/home.asp)

Or, 1-800-364-1359.

Todd.

[Bob_Hammond]

I saw some of your completed works on your website and they look very nice. What do you use for the final coat and how do you apply it? I'm planning a built-in desk for my daughter.

Bob

[Todd Burch]

Hi Bob - and thanks for the compliment on the web site!

For my painted pieces (which are now collector items ( :D ) since I'm not going to paint anymore (unless, of course, someone has more $$ than they know what to do with). I've used alkyd (oil based ) enamel. For the most part, I have used Sherwin Williams ProMar 200. However, I have since learned that SW has a 30-minute dry enamel too (as opposed to the 8+ hour dry of the ProMar 200). However, my local corner SW store doesn't stock the 30 minute stuff and if I want it tinted, it's a 1/2 day trip into Houston and back, twice, since it's a 2-4 day wait on tinting.

For my lacquered pieces, I've been using ML Campbell's Magnalac, although I will probably be migrating over to Magnamax soon. Both are precatalyzed lacquers, high solids, HAPS free and low VOC and require no thinning (although I splash in some retarder for blushing during high humidity which is pretty much always).

I will be painting some more pieces for myself soon - a bathroom head-knocker cabinet and the base for a trestle table I'm making (YOO-HOO! my cherry table top "blank" arrived this AM - 34" x 90" - solid cherry), neither of which will be white. I'll use oil base for those too.

I spray paint (and the lacquers). I won't brush paint - I'm terrible with a brush (unless it's a wall! - although I can cut a mean line with a 2" sash brush). I have used both my Titan Airless spray unit with a fine finish tip and a conventional spray gun with a 2-quart remote pot. I would recommend a remote pot for any type of cabinet or furniture spraying over a gravity or a siphon cup. Although I have used a siphon cup for many years (and still do occasionally), I find they prohibit my movements and if I ever bump anything while I'm painting, it's usually "run (or sag) city" - aka, more work to deal with.

Phil Phelps paints a lot of items too. I pay attention to his comments on the matter.

Whether or not I choose to use the airless or the 2-quart gun depends on the quantity of painting I am gearing up for. Both produce adequate results, but the airless is easier and faster, but the airless is also more of a headache to clean up.