Best Paint To Roll On MDF Shelves

[Howard Rosenberg]

Hi all -

I asked this question earlier in the year but I was planning on spraying.

I've boxed myself into a corner re my wife's expectations and have finally finished buiding a set of shelves.

Yep - the heat's on and here's my dilemna.

- the shelves are made of MDF
- I'm reluctant to use latex because of the stickiness, the blocking I've heard of

In my previous post, Sherwin-Williams' ProClassic Waterborne was recommended but it was suggested I'll need two weeks for it to cure.

Can't wait two weeks!!!

Any other recommendations?
Would oil cure quicker?

Thank you.

Howard

[Tom Hamilton]

Hi Howard: A FWW article a few years ago recommended using oil based primer and then oil or water based top coats. The idea is that a water based primer soaks into the MDF and raises bubbles, ripples and other assorted distortions.

The oil based bonds, does not distort the MDF and can be block sanded to produce a very smooth base for the top coat.

I use KILTZ on all my MDF projects because it is inexpensive.

Hope this helps.

Tom

[Jim Becker]

Howard..."two weeks to cure" means to "fully cure". It "dries" much faster! Like in time measured in minutes and hours, not days. ANY paint or finish really needs time to fully cure and you don't want to put heavy or pointy objects on it. Some finishes take much longer than two weeks to fully cure. ;) The SW ProClassic is a good choice for your application based on the advise of the painting pros who visit here. I spray Target Coatings USL and have learned the hard way that it's no different than any other finish...despite being dry to the touch and safe to handle in a few hours, one should NOT put stuff on top of it for a reasonable period of time.

[Thomas Walker]

SW proclassic is great stuff and will work fine. I'd just put it down over some kilz premium primer. Note that the kilz remains tacky even if you let it dry for a couple of days so it will bond well to the paint.

The proclassic will be dry enough to prevent blocking within 5 days (assuming normal temps and humidity). Probably dry enough sooner but I wouldn't risk anything valuable books or objects. Reposition the items on the shelves after a couple of weeks to make sure nothing sticks.

I like using the foam rollers on shelves - very fast and nice flat coat.

[Jim Becker]

Doesn't the Pro Classic have a designated primer?

[Jason Roehl]

Not necessarily a "specific" primer, but the can will list several of Sherwin's primers designed for various surfaces (block, wood, metal, etc.).