I recently inherited a lovely antique mahogany corner cabinet. It
seems to be made from chunky MDF like material with a thin, though
rich looking veneer of some kind. I want to paint it avocado and put
it in the bathroom. There seem to be 2 main considerations. Preparing
the surface for paint (without damaging a possibly super-thin veneer)
and protecting the fibre board from airborne moisture.
Is there an ideal etching type solvent that would make the surface
ready for primer without having to resort to paint-stripper?
Is there a specialist primer that would make a good foundation for
further painting on this surface?
TIA
--
Regards,
Mike Halmarack

Drop the EGG to email me.

Errm....if it is a "lovely antique", is etching the surface and
painting it the best thing to do? Although of course MDF is not
normally a feature of antique furniture! If you need a bathroom
cabinet, why not sell the antique and buy something more appropriate?
Not that I'm trying to dictate or anything, just that your eventual
heirs might curse you for ruining a valuable piece.

pen wrote:
Errm....if it is a "lovely antique", is etching the surface and
painting it the best thing to do? Although of course MDF is not
normally a feature of antique furniture! If you need a bathroom
cabinet, why not sell the antique and buy something more appropriate?
Not that I'm trying to dictate or anything, just that your eventual
heirs might curse you for ruining a valuable piece.

It's not an antique. Rub it over with cellulose thinners, Jizer,
or WHY, and roller some paint onto it.

On 22 Feb 2006 04:12:16 -0800, "pen" wrote:

Errm....if it is a "lovely antique", is etching the surface and
painting it the best thing to do?

It's the sort of "lovely antique"that's suitable for this "change of
use" treatment, in my fuzzy estimation.

Although of course MDF is not normally a feature of antique furniture!

That's what I thought! I suspect it's just pretending to be an
antique. I wouldn't want to hurt it's feelings by telling it so
though.

If you need a bathroom
cabinet, why not sell the antique and buy something more appropriate?

Several reasons:
Antiques made from MDF don't usually attract top prices.
I believe in making best use of what just turns up.
My next door neighbor offered the cabinet to me and my adviser told me
to never refuse a gift.
I guess if I did sell it, mythology would soon have it that it was a
genuine Sheraton which fetched thousands at auction.

Not that I'm trying to dictate or anything, just that your eventual
heirs might curse you for ruining a valuable piece.

Surely painting it Avocado to match the rest of the items in the
bathroom could only increase it's value?
Unless, that is, it collapses like a milk soaked shredded wheat
because I got the painting chemistry wrong.
--
Regards,
Mike Halmarack

Drop the EGG to email me.

On Wed, 22 Feb 2006 12:34:23 +0000, Chris Bacon
wrote:

pen wrote:
Errm....if it is a "lovely antique", is etching the surface and
painting it the best thing to do? Although of course MDF is not
normally a feature of antique furniture! If you need a bathroom
cabinet, why not sell the antique and buy something more appropriate?
Not that I'm trying to dictate or anything, just that your eventual
heirs might curse you for ruining a valuable piece.

It's not an antique. Rub it over with cellulose thinners, Jizer,
or WHY, and roller some paint onto it.

Now there's a man after my own heart.
I might go for a slightly more delicately applied finish though, if
the suggestion of one turns up.
--
Regards,
Mike Halmarack

Drop the EGG to email me.

Mike Halmarack wrote:
Chris Bacon wrote:
Rub it over with cellulose thinners, Jizer,
or WHY, and roller some paint onto it.

Now there's a man after my own heart.
I might go for a slightly more delicately applied finish though, if
the suggestion of one turns up.

Rollering's OK with gloss, it can be made to leave a very
slightly orange-peely finish that hides minor imperfections
well. I suppose you could always use a spray can of stopper
or some sort of primer, rub it down, and use a spray can of
a suitable colour to finish it off.

On Wed, 22 Feb 2006 12:55:29 +0000, Chris Bacon
wrote:

Mike Halmarack wrote:
Chris Bacon wrote:
Rub it over with cellulose thinners, Jizer,
or WHY, and roller some paint onto it.

Now there's a man after my own heart.
I might go for a slightly more delicately applied finish though, if
the suggestion of one turns up.

Rollering's OK with gloss, it can be made to leave a very
slightly orange-peely finish that hides minor imperfections
well. I suppose you could always use a spray can of stopper
or some sort of primer, rub it down, and use a spray can of
a suitable colour to finish it off.

Thanks, i'll put it on my short list of possibilities.
I've been thinking of buying an air brush on ebay, mainly for other
purposes. I know it would mean lot's of refills, even if an airbrush
will spray gloss paint, which is possible I supposes.
--
Regards,
Mike Halmarack

Drop the EGG to email me.

Mike Halmarack wrote:
I recently inherited a lovely antique mahogany corner cabinet. It
seems to be made from chunky MDF like material with a thin, though
rich looking veneer of some kind. I want to paint it avocado and put
it in the bathroom. There seem to be 2 main considerations. Preparing
the surface for paint (without damaging a possibly super-thin veneer)
and protecting the fibre board from airborne moisture.
Is there an ideal etching type solvent that would make the surface
ready for primer without having to resort to paint-stripper?
Is there a specialist primer that would make a good foundation for
further painting on this surface?
TIA

Don't ya just hate it when some bloke has gone to the trouble of making a
cabinet or something in wood then veneered it and stainded it and
someone(particulary women)go and paint it. ;-)

--
Sir Benjamin Middlethwaite

On Wed, 22 Feb 2006 13:06:18 GMT, "The3rd Earl Of Derby"
wrote:

Mike Halmarack wrote:
I recently inherited a lovely antique mahogany corner cabinet. It
seems to be made from chunky MDF like material with a thin, though
rich looking veneer of some kind. I want to paint it avocado and put
it in the bathroom. There seem to be 2 main considerations. Preparing
the surface for paint (without damaging a possibly super-thin veneer)
and protecting the fibre board from airborne moisture.
Is there an ideal etching type solvent that would make the surface
ready for primer without having to resort to paint-stripper?
Is there a specialist primer that would make a good foundation for
further painting on this surface?
TIA

Don't ya just hate it when some bloke has gone to the trouble of making a
cabinet or something in wood then veneered it and stainded it and
someone(particulary women)go and paint it. ;-)

I hope so, cus I'm not keen on this kind of painting. I expect I'll
end up doing it myself though. I'm getting quite adept at improvising
from the lack of a handy woman.
--
Regards,
Mike Halmarack

Drop the EGG to email me.

Mike Halmarack wrote:

On Wed, 22 Feb 2006 12:55:29 +0000, Chris Bacon
wrote:
Rollering's OK with gloss, it can be made to leave a very
slightly orange-peely finish that hides minor imperfections
well. I suppose you could always use a spray can of stopper
or some sort of primer, rub it down, and use a spray can of
a suitable colour to finish it off.

Thanks, i'll put it on my short list of possibilities.
I've been thinking of buying an air brush on ebay, mainly for other
purposes. I know it would mean lot's of refills, even if an airbrush
will spray gloss paint, which is possible I supposes.

Just use the roller! It works very well, it's fast, and it's cheap.

On Wed, 22 Feb 2006 08:27:55 -0500, S Viemeister
wrote:

Mike Halmarack wrote:

On Wed, 22 Feb 2006 12:55:29 +0000, Chris Bacon
wrote:
Rollering's OK with gloss, it can be made to leave a very
slightly orange-peely finish that hides minor imperfections
well. I suppose you could always use a spray can of stopper
or some sort of primer, rub it down, and use a spray can of
a suitable colour to finish it off.

Thanks, i'll put it on my short list of possibilities.
I've been thinking of buying an air brush on ebay, mainly for other
purposes. I know it would mean lot's of refills, even if an airbrush
will spray gloss paint, which is possible I supposes.

Just use the roller! It works very well, it's fast, and it's cheap.

Fast and cheap's my ideal. I can't see many part's of this cabinet
that would accommodate a roller. Maybe a tiny toy one perhaps.
--
Regards,
Mike Halmarack

Drop the EGG to email me.

Mike Halmarack wrote:

Fast and cheap's my ideal. I can't see many part's of this cabinet
that would accommodate a roller. Maybe a tiny toy one perhaps.

That's what I use. Tiny rollers.
Brush first, on any bits that a roller won't fit into, then finish
everything off with rollers. Chris is right about the orange-peel surface
- it hides most imperfections.

On Wed, 22 Feb 2006 09:04:26 -0500, S Viemeister
wrote:

Mike Halmarack wrote:

Fast and cheap's my ideal. I can't see many part's of this cabinet
that would accommodate a roller. Maybe a tiny toy one perhaps.

That's what I use. Tiny rollers.
Brush first, on any bits that a roller won't fit into, then finish
everything off with rollers. Chris is right about the orange-peel surface
- it hides most imperfections.

In that case I have several jobs for them. Thanks for the tip. Tiny
rollers it is.
--
Regards,
Mike Halmarack

Drop the EGG to email me.

Mike Halmarack wrote:
Fast and cheap's my ideal. I can't see many part's of this cabinet
that would accommodate a roller. Maybe a tiny toy one perhaps.

What about a 100mm mini-roller? You can also combine brush
and roller, brush paing the fiddly bits, and roll over the
rest (a bit like the reverse of rollering doors and laying
off with a brush after).

S Viemeister wrote:
Mike Halmarack wrote:
Fast and cheap's my ideal. I can't see many part's of this cabinet
that would accommodate a roller. Maybe a tiny toy one perhaps.

That's what I use. Tiny rollers.
Brush first, on any bits that a roller won't fit into, then finish
everything off with rollers. Chris is right about the orange-peel surface
- it hides most imperfections.

Ooops. I've just re-psoted approx. what you've just said!

In article
Mike Halmarack wrote:
I recently inherited a lovely antique mahogany corner cabinet. It
seems to be made from chunky MDF like material with a thin, though
rich looking veneer of some kind. I want to paint it avocado and put
it in the bathroom.

Can't you paint the bathroom mahogany instead?

On Thu, 23 Feb 2006 11:03:36 -0000, Rob Morley
wrote:

In article
Mike Halmarack wrote:
I recently inherited a lovely antique mahogany corner cabinet. It
seems to be made from chunky MDF like material with a thin, though
rich looking veneer of some kind. I want to paint it avocado and put
it in the bathroom.

Can't you paint the bathroom mahogany instead?

There's sometimes a tastefully located mahogany coloured ring around
the inside of the avocado bathtub. I suppose I could try to encourage
it to spread and assess the result.
--
Regards,
Mike Halmarack

Drop the EGG to email me.

On Wed, 22 Feb 2006 12:55:29 +0000, Chris Bacon
wrote:


Hi Chris,
using plusnet's news server and Forte Agent, one of your most helpful
replies didn't arrive here. I saw the missing message on Google. I'm
taking your advice on the painting, thanks.
--
Regards,
Mike Halmarack

Drop the EGG to email me.