"The Importance Of A PROPER SEAL!" Topic

This one clearly isn't a proper seal:

Seriously though …

1) What do you use to seal your laser-cut MDF kits?

2) Do you spray/brush that before OR after assembling the kit?

3) And do the same suggestions apply to thin laser-cut plywood? Or just to MDF?

Thanks

Dan
TMP link

Have never ever sealed an MDF kit.

I have painted them with acrylic paints and varnishes.

Never had a problem.

I don't think it's really necessary to seal MDF. Reason being is that it's a unique material in modeling terms.

I would think that the paint would kind of soak in to the MDF a bit since it's made of basically wood fibers and paper fibers. As such I would think that you also don't need to prime or undercoat MDF in the way you would metal or plastic. And because it soaks in a bit there's no worry of paint scraping or chipping off the way it would come off metal or plastic.

I could be wrong, I haven't yet built or painted any MDF. But I will be doing some in the next couple months and I'll see how the paint adheres.

I haven't detected much paint soaking into any MDF kits I have built. Acrylic paint will scratch and markup if you scrape it.

I seal MDF bases for figures and terrain with Acrylic Gesso on both sides and the edges befor applying figures, textures, flock, etc.

BTW, that seal knows how to move quickly and efficiently while reserving energy! My kinda action :-)

That is a most improper seal indeed, sir!

LOL. And you can tell at the end how dizzy it made itself.

Dan

I spray prime all my mdf kits. Then I spray paint some, and brush paint others. All acrylics. My experience is some kits fuzz a bit after spraying. There must be minor differences in the mdf that aren't enough to change the actual product as far as sales goes, but definitely does seem to be differences in the product. Nearly all my kits have been from the same company (Charlie Foxtrot Models) so its not that diff vendors are using diff mdf. My experience only, mind you.