Until I get a chance to properly test the cupboard paint I honestly couldn’t tell you whether this genuinely doesn’t need a primer. If you want to try it here’s a link but don’t blame me if it stays sticky forever. Probably a manufacturing defect in the paint but just thought I’d mention it. I’ve had mixed results with Dulux (non-Trade) Quick Dry Satinwood from the big box stores including paint that seemed to be endlessly sticky (once dry!). I’ve had predictable good results with custom-mixed Dulux Trade Quick Dry Satinwood from decorating centres (the Trade is the important bit!). By the way for the top coat paint I would normally use a quick drying water-based satinwood paint. So erm… here’s a picture of some primer: Johnstone’s Any Surface Primer My approach to painting melamine / thermofoil – what paint?Īs I say, this isn’t a job for the faint hearted but if you really want to take it on, this would be my own personal approach. HAVING SAID ALL THAT the cupboard paint mentioned earlier ( Johnstone’s Revive) apparently doesn’t need a primer or undercoat. There’s also this All Purpose Primer but it’s oil-based and that’s a different animal. The only Johnstone’s primer I can find now that’s specifically designed for MFC is their Speciality Any Surface Primer. In the video above I’m using Leyland Acrylic Primer Undercoat and this seems to work pretty well.Ī while ago I spoke to Johnstone’s and they specifically recommended Johnstone’s Trade Multi Surface Primer but this is hard to get hold of now. The best way to do this in the past has always been to use a good primer. The key to painting melamine is achieving a good bond between the paint and the MFC panel. Even then it’s not as easy as it looks – practice on a hidden piece first if you can! How do you paint melamine? So pretty much the only scenario where you’ll be painting MFC is if you want to change the colour of an existing piece of furniture… or give it a bit of a refresh.
![paintable veeer panel paintable veeer panel](https://sc02.alicdn.com/kf/HTB1uXRDmfBNTKJjSszbq6yFrFXar/221149179/HTB1uXRDmfBNTKJjSszbq6yFrFXar.jpg)
MFC is smooth and completely non-absorbent – that’s kind of the point of it. Bare MDF is absorbent and easy for the paint to stick to. Bare MDF is much easier to paint than MFC and the painted finish of MDF will probably be more hard wearing than painted MFC. There’s no point in painting new MFC – either buy it the colour you need or just use MDF and paint that instead. Paint will NOT be anywhere near as hard wearing and will NOT have the same quality of finish. Please don’t think that by painting your cabinets that you’re going to get the same finish.
![paintable veeer panel paintable veeer panel](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/12/04/c2/1204c2c57494b4f8b38e8b6afea9d49c.jpg)
Melamine and thermofoil are both plastics. Just to clarify, thermofoil vs melamine A word of warning!