spraying mdf

can anyone tell me what type of paint to use to spray mdf.

The most important thing is to seal it thoroughly with several coats of MDF sealant before finishing it - surfaces 2 coats (min) and edges 4 to 5 coats. Between each coat leave to dry and flay back with a Scotch grey (fine) pad to remove the raised grain. After that almost anything works well as it no longer behaves like blotting paper

Scrit

thanks.
its my first go at spraying with a gun and air.what type of paint would you recommend for the high gloss finsh i'm after or does it depend on the work put into the lacquer.

I've done ultra high gloss finishes using acrylics and I don't think they are a beginners finish at all. My own approach is to thoroughly seal and flat back the MDF. All cracks, gaps, etc should previously have been filled with a 2-pack filler and sanded back to between 150 and 220 grit. Next use a high-build/high solids undercoat (2 to 3 coats, flatted back to at least 320/400 grit after each coat). Take the time to work your way up the grits, not missing any and clean-out your sander as well as blow off the work between grits. Then spray the matt colour coats - again 2 to 3 coats, denibbed between coats. Following that 3 to 6 coats of a clear high gloss lacquer, again denibbing between coats. Finally buff up with an electric body polisher, foam mop and a cutting compound such as 3M or Farecla (circa P2000 grit). You need to be scrupulously clean at every stage of this procedure - so you need to vacuum out the garage (or wherever), set up some form of extraction (so that bounce-back and overspray don't degrade the surface finish) and a way to make-up heat loss (because chilling the workpiece/lacquer can cause loads of problems). The best finishes also require a reasonable quality gun with decent filtration and a consistent air supply, not a £25 B&Q special. It is one of those jobs where care in preparation coupled with quality equipment and extreme cleanliness pays dividends.

The difficulty with high gloss finishes is that every surface defect and every speck of dust show and seem to be magnified by the glossiness meaning that what would be an acceptable quality of finish on a semi-matt or even a medium gloss finish.

Quite frankly it is quite a bit easier to get a high gloss finish using traditional oil-based paints or lacquers and high quality brushes - although again that also requires a good deal of fine preparation.

Scrit

A point for the mods. MDF is predominently used in furniture and requires a spray room to do the job properly. That means that it is a furniture finishing operation in the same way that French polishing is and NOT a decorating technique like hanging wallpaper or painting bannisters . Would it therefore be possible to put this back with the woodworking stuff, please?

Scrit

sorry about that scrit,i thought i had selected woodworking,anyway thanks for the info,i get the point about cleanliness,i knew it was'nt going to be as easy as i thought but i'm going to have a bash at it anyway.i'll let you know how much of a balls up i make.