painting an mdf piano shell

[jangus]

//media.diynot.com/167000_166269_34446_71404574_thumb.jpg

i have built a full sized baby grand piano shell from mdf. it's to house an electric piano for portable gigs around the UK.

i am looking at painting it black. i'm not after the truly polished mirror type shine of a grand piano, but i dont want to see gloss paint streaks or orange peel in it either. my question is, which would be the best way to paint it?? what would be the best paint??

i don't have a spray gun and compressor so spraying would be from cans.

if i used brushes and rollers, would i get a silky smooth finish all over, or a smooth glossy finish, i'd be happy with either result.

any help or pointers would be truly appreciated
thanks for looking

 

[TheDec]

Firstly you will need to apply a couple of coats of primer (water based) before any u/c and gloss, I would doubt your chances of obtaining a good finish using spray cans and perhaps not a good idea.

It will be your painting skills that will determine the finish result, if your brush skills are a little suspect you could apply your paint with a roller lightly laying off with a brush, this method will help to reduce brush marks and allow a smoother finish.

Regarding your gloss a higher shine and smoother finish will be obtained by applying more thinner coats as opposed to one thicker one, lightly sanding with around 100 grit wet between coats, don't overthin this will reduce sheen levels.

Hope this is of some help

Dec

 

[jangus]

cheers for that!!

any idea which would be a good black paint for the finish?

 

[TheDec]

Anyone of them would be ok, it's the application methods that will offer good results.

Dec