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G'day dakka, I recently got one of these;


and am wanting to paint the recessed crest on it, I have never tried painting MDF detailing like that and have not been able to find any decent resources. I know when painting sheets/panels you need to seal the edges does this hold true and if so how would one go about doing so without painting the panels too? Are there any other things I should know or tips you can give?
Cheers in advance.

I've primed and painted mdf terrain (never had a box for trinkets) - but it's mostly the same.

You need to seal the surface of mdf or it WILL drink in paint like a thirsty dog.
A light coat of an ENAMEL (matt) primer will do this (rattle can) and shouldn't obscure detail. You can then go over it with other paints (with a chewed stick or airbrush).

While you could use a spray acrylic to seal it, they will soak into the surface more and it will eat more paint. Enamels don't soak in as much., they form more of a skin on the surface, preventing that. They take a LOT longer to dry, though. Give them a couple of days.

Cheers for that mate, as I am just wanting to do the interior detail would you recommend masking the rest off? Not sure how well I could do that. Got a pic of my own one to finally upload;


Those curves would be a right pain.

Honestly id either leave it or get a cheap paint and keep loading it until it stops absorbing, hopefully, it doesn't seep into another spot. I think it looks dope without any paintwork though.

You can buy MDF sealer on Amazon, think my tin was £5 and did a whole table of terrain and used about 1/10th of the pot. Its like skimmed milk in consistency, paint it on, let it dry and paint away.

I primed my first pieces but after those just went straight on with the first coat and it was fine.

I've found an airbrush gets great coverage on these. You're more staining the wood with thinned paint which is quite fast and effective. Trying to put it on with a brush and it will act like a sponge and look very patchy.