Can you paint mdf skirting board

Once your boards are dry, the next step is to sand down the wood surface to make it clean and smooth. You can do so with sandpaper or an electric sander. Always sand with the grain as opposed to against it, as this will create a smoother finish. Sanding will make sure the paint has a strong surface to adhere to.

Softly slide your hand along the surface once you are done to confirm the finish is neat. We recommend wearing a mask as things will get dusty! Knots are a different colour and texture from the background wood and absorb wood finishes differently.

Painting over knots without preparing them first will mean that the knots are visible through the paint, no matter how many coats you apply. Keep in mind that some woods have more knots than others. For example, pine can be especially grainy and has knots-a-plenty. MDF skirting boards , for example, are knot-free, so if yours are made from MDF, you can skip this step. One thing you might be concerned about when painting your skirting boards is how to do it without getting paint all over your carpet or wood floor.

We recommend applying a roll of self-adhesive plastic floor protector as close to the board as possible to protect your flooring. Wait until the primer is completely dry before painting. Many ranges of paint and paintbrush exist and your next decision is what to choose. We advise you to use good quality paint and have decent brushes to apply it with.

It will make your life so much easier and you will be thankful you did. The next decision is whether to use an undercoat then gloss, or buy a tin that does both in one go. Whilst the former is more time consuming, it can often bring much better results and experience would favour this method. Bear in mind that if you are gloss painting on top of gloss paint, there is reasonably only so many times you can do this before you need to go back to the bare skirting or at least undercoating first.

Typically if you are painting a large area, undercoat and leave it a day before glossing. Some undercoats dry much quicker and ambient conditions are always a factor. It adds more depth to smaller spaces than an matt finish and is easy to maintain because it stands up well to excessive scrubbing and regular wipe downs.

Although the semi-gloss finish can highlight minor imperfections in the surface of the wood, paint brands with a plastic or enamel finish are more effective at covering minor flaws like bumps, scratches, and scuffs than gloss paint.

The longevity of satin paint is a major consideration too. Compared to gloss, satin paints maintain their colour for much longer. Matt paint provides a dull or flat finish with little to no sheen. This is the paint to choose if you want to steer clear of that shiny finish, but maintain a subtle sheen without the reflectivity.