I recently made flooring from 4′ X 4″ sheets of MDF with 1/8″ maple banding, which give it an inlaid look. The effect is rather stunning, and certainly different.
The problem is finishing it. I tried water based and oil based polyurethane on some samples, and both left major streaking — given the uneven porosity of the MDF.
Looking for a sealer, I have tried Seal Coat (a dewaxed shellac),
Ben Moore Wood Conditioner, and a small amount of boiled linseed oil mixed with paint thinner. In each case the result was better, but the MDF still has an uneven, mottled look to it.
If any of you have had experience in getting unstained MDF to accept some sort of varnish without blotching, I would be very grateful to hear from you. Thanks.
Replies
It may be a bit difficult as the MDF has a wax coating which repels some finishes - I'd suggest that a finish with a fairly strong solvent may be the way to go, or as a complete opposite, try a water-based varnish.
One or the other may work.
Good luck and let us know how it went,
eddie
Try about 6 coats of poly on your sample. Wait at least a day between coats.
PlaneWood by Mike_in_Katy (maker of fine sawdust!)
PlaneWood
you might try one coat tungoil then try coating with water base clear I did this to a bench and it dosn't seam to be blotchey but it did darken.
You need to suspend wax in tolulol..very hazardous, but works like a dream..a thin 2 coats like cream consistancy, squeegeed on and worked quickly with more liquid if it binds too fast or 'flashes' then a power buffer with lambs wool AFTER the fumes are GONE..NO SPARKS FROM A MOTOR!!!!!!!!!!!!.
Any good Carnuba will work..Mothers California Gold in paste form diluted is what has worked for me.
This also does wonders for cork flooring as well.
>> You need to suspend wax in tolulol.
Can you do this just by stirring, or does it require heat? Maybe the way to ask is how far ahead of time do you have to start on this to accomplish it without heating?
I had not found it necessary to heat the mixture, actually just used a mason jar...scooped the wax in and flooded it..put on the lid and shook it up..paste wax already has a softening agent present..useually tolulol..or tolulene..keep it in a closed container , matters not when ya mix it up beforehand. But , if ya leave the lid offa the jar it just gets to thick to really soak in, just thin it again and keep on going. Keep away from open flames..and respirater is advised or an open window.
The part about starting with paste wax is what I was missing.
yeah, the california gold carnuba is good stuff..find it at auto wax section, maybe simonize as well...hafta read the can..I should have emphasized earlier..WATER BAse poly is way wrong..it wont penetrate..just sits there., but he already knew that.
Any chance you have pictures of the floor? I'm intrigued by different uses of MDF, especially in "raw" form with different edge treatments.
A word of warning, toluene is easily absorbed through unprotected skin and the vapours can be absorbed through your eyes and mucus membranes, it is very toxic and you need to be very careful when working with it.
I know it is hard to get in various locales but here in Canada I use General Paints #2 thinner which is mainly if not pure toluene.
It has a very low flash point and fire is a concern, we used to mix it with gasoline to kick the octane rating up when we were young and foolish and running high compression motorcycle engines.
So long from Grand Forks, gtw
you are correct about the hazards of tolulene, and safty first is important, xylene works as well, and the solvent in "BRI-WAX" a major antique dealer finish is tolulene..it's in almost everything from rust-o-leum to bug and tar remover..in the right hands it is good stuff..then again MEK is too..
Try thinning the Seal Coat way down and applying several coats, the color should start to even out after a few applications. Alternate applying the coats crosswise and lengthwise to get as even a saturation as possible. Also try using a roller to apply the finish, it will go on more evenly, and faster, which will reduce the lapping marks. I can't be sure that this will solve your problem, so I'd suggest experimenting on some scrap first.
I would stay away from tolulene if possible, and I'm not sure that your problem is caused by wax in the MDF, it's probably there but it is evenly dispersed and not likely to be causing your problem.
John W.
nikkiwood,
I too would love to see a pic. of you floor project. I love to see people do funky floor things, my latest was a floor done from 2 x 2 birch panels dyed blue and green with a Batik pattern. Finish was Bona Kemi H20 Traffic.
Chris
http://www.terrawooddesign.com
Sorry, no pics at the moment. Might take some if I can get the finish to look right.
I looked at your website, and can only say your inlay work is awsome.
Since different wood species will take finishes differently, have you ever had to seal off some parts of the inlay for the sake of achieving a uniform finish?
If so what did you use?
Edited 1/19/2004 4:18:11 AM ET by nikkiwood
I've had problems with cocobolo and ebony. My soultion is to install the inlay, sand the floor and as soon as the final pass is made over the top of the inlay with the big sander I take acetone and scrub the inlay very hard to get any oils from the surface of teh exotics and then I follow the acetone with a coat of oil-based sealer (Bona Kemi brand quick dry sealer made for floors, it stick to anything).
peace
Chris
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