Has anyone painted MDF cupboards rather than get them sprayed? Spray quote is a LOT

[Starspangledrodeo]

Hi I’m looking for advice, we’ve just had MDF cupboards made and wall panelling added. The quote to spray them is £2k, I can’t really afford this, so am wondering if anyone has had success painting Mdf themselves?

I have, painted with Rustoleum universal, no primer or undercoat needed, still looking good after 2.5 years.
in fact, most of the furniture in our house is now painted with universal 😁

Those of you who didn’t use primer was that on completely bare MDF that had never been painted before? I think I definitely need to use primer as these cupboards are brand new MDF and have never been painted.

My grandad made my son a Mdf bed with loads of storage solutions built in. I never used primer and I just used wilkos tough and durable paint. It lasted 6 years and then I painted it pink and white for our daughter in the same paint from wilko. Iv also painted my MDF wardrobe doors these had a film on that I manged to peel of and painted them in the same paint with a roller. It looks really good. Xx

These cupboards / shelves and a full wall of wardrobes upstairs were all made from mdf and painted by hand. A couple of coats of primer followed by eggshell paint. They were last painted 7 years ago and there are no chips. I would recommend using a small roller with a short pile to get a smooth finish.

They look fab @TattiePants, that gives me hope I can do it myself

I've seen various doors left on/taken off methods on the page Sunshineandrainbow. Some people's vinyl was OK so they painted over it, just sugar soaped/sanded well first.

My vinyl is cracked so I'm going to strip it all with the hairdryer. I'm going to do mine when it's warmer and think I'll take the doors off (some people use food cans to prop them up on), I'm worried about drips.

I bought new shaker cupboard doors, plinths, kickboards including new integrated extractor hob etc off eBay, fitted them all on my own. I used Zinsser undercoat and colour matched Dulux eggshell to paint the unit edges and visible sides. Total cost was less than 1K and looked like a totally new kitchen.

We used 2 coats of primer (can't remember what) and 3 coats little green eggshell. Roller with dense sponge (don't know the proper name!) which we think looks nice but is personal preference about the finish I think. Sanding in between coats makes it better (we did that on the front but not the back of the doors )

Yes - used Johnstones water based MDF primer (one coat) followed by 2 coats of Johnstones oil-based eggshell (mixed to a colour code.) Great paint to use, really good coverage, and no chips a year in.

I've got loads of painted mdf in my house (making it sound super glamorous!) the key to a good finish is using 2 coats of a good primer and using a small foam roller rather than a brush.

Can you do this for kitchen cupboard doors with vinyl paint?

I should preface this by noting that both me and my other half are TERRIBLE at all forms of DIY. Also, I have zero patience. Odds were really stacked against, but we DIY’d ours and the finish came out really well.

Primed with Zinsser and then with Dulux Once satin in some kind of white which I can no longer remember. It was one coat of primer and 3 coats of the Dulux (so not exactly “once”). We used foam rollers and good paintbrushes for the bits where detail was needed.

It took a good 3 or 4 evenings to complete one triple cupboard about the size of a large Pax wardrobe, inside and out. It’s held up very well for about 8 years.

😬
What on earth was the surface you were painting on? Surely not bare MDF? One coat of bog standard wood primer should have been enough on that, unless it was really rough stuff. Then I'd have done a very light sand if it came up a bit rough (more the case with water based primers), then a couple of coats of the appropriate colour of undercoat, sanding lightly between each coat of undercoat to get it very smooth and give a good tooth, maybe three coats if I wanted a finish as smooth as glass. Then I'd expect not to need more than 2 topcoats, possibly just one if the colour and tone was very close to the undercoat colour and tone.
I'd use spirit based, but I'd suggest a less experienced person might be better off with water based. And two thin coats are better than one thick one- so brush the paint well and evenly out (don;t actually thin it with water or solvent, though).
Taking the doors off and painting them flat can help too- the paint can 'flow' better (though this is more the case with spirit based paints) but you still need to brush it well and thinly out- no puddling.
I do always use Trade, usually Dulux, but sometimes Johnstones or Leyland.