High Gloss finish for MDF kitchen cabinet doors??

[Chris Yarish]

I have a friend who's designer made a very sleek euro looking kitchen with MDF cabinet doors. The finish on them is a high gloss paint. She claims that he had an autobody paint shop paint all his pieces. This gave the high gloss look and ensured that it was durable and without lint and dust flecks.

Has anyone heard of this method for painting MDF? Is there a way to achieve this look without going to an automotive shop?

I refaced some doors in my old condo with MDF and used a white high gloss Varathane laqueur. Problem was, I have no place to paint them now and any place that is remotely suitable would allow dust and lint to collect on the surface as it dries.

Comments?

[Chuck Lenz]

Laquer dries so fast that I can't imagine much contamination of lint or dust being a issue unless your doing it next to a clothes dryer vent. I use to help a friend of mine in the painting bussiness stain and laquer woodwork in new homes, far from ideal conditions when spraying finishes, and we produced some pretty smooth work.

[frank shic]

you may want to consider powder finishing. get on the shopbot forum and search for the terms: MDF powder finish or you could google it as well.

[Larry Fox]

another vote for tinted lacquer. Homestead sells it

[Grant Morris]

There is a product called Penetrol that I used to add to oil based paint that I brushed onto exterior railings. It has a way of making the paint flow and the results were tubes that look like they had been sprayed. It would be interesting to see how you make out on a cabinet door...

[Loren Hedahl]

Nothing in the normal woodworker's arsenal of finishes will even come close to a modern auto finish. These are acrylic/polyurethane base with a chemical cross-link hardener added.

The general routine would be to first spray on a primer-surfacer either acrylic or epoxy based. When dry, it is sanded flat to 320 grit. Then follows three coats of color and three more of clear coat. After setting up for a day any orange peel or dust is sanded wet with 1200 grit, then 2000 grit and polished with a series of rubbing compound grits.

This is serious custom car stuff, but adapts nicely to woodworking. I often do something similar to custom piano rebuilds that I work at as a retirement avocation. The shine is more what is done after the stuff has been applied and set up. Of course a good HVLP gun such as a Sata or Iwata helps minimize the amount of final sanding and polishing. With enough final work, even a bad job with runs, bugs, dust, etc., can be made perfectly smooth. Sometimes spots are recoated with a detail gun or air brush. Just depends on how perfect you want it.

Another thought would be to use acrylic panels instead of fiberboard.