Do MDF Boards Stain Well?
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A reader recently asked, “I recently purchase mdf board to build a poker table it was the width i needed because in came in 5′x10′ sizes but it wasn’t quite what i was looking for i wanted the wood grain look so i was wondering could i stain it and how would it look. Also would you recommend gluing a thin sheet of plywood on top of the mdf board to get the desired look i’m looking for?”
Medium density fiberboard (MDF) is really not the best wood product to stain. Mainly because of the way the wood product is made, you can read more about how mdf is made. With so many fine fibers the board will absorbe the stain in a very splotchy manner. It will look pretty ugly.
To get a natural looking surface. You can glue on a thin sheet of veneer on the top of the surface. Basically making your own plywood. The local big box home improvement center should carry the typical oak and maybe birch veneer that you can glue on the table top.
If you want a different wood grain on the, other than red oak, consider buying 1/4″ thick plywood and gluing it down on the table surface. Your local hardwoods lumber yard should carry a few different species of wood in 1/4″ plywood. In my area the big box home improvement stores only carry red oak and birch 1/4″ plywood.
MDF takes paint really well. Be sure that the first coat is a primer / sealer so that the finish paint will not be soaked up by the MDF.
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Another problem with mdf is that it usually doesn’t have a nice grain pattern to show off. You could do a veneer or a patterned veneer …. Buy some “door skin” and glue that on. Either of which will look better then trying to stain the mdf.
If you really want to stain the mdf, you will have to pre-treat it to help control the blotching. Minwax makes one that works very well. When I’m working with anything that soaks up the stain to fast or unevenly, I will apply a coat of the pre-stain, let it set for a few minutes and then do a coat of natural stain. Let that combo sit for about an hour and then apply the color I want. Keep in mind that doing this will not let a lot of the color absorb and you end up with a much lighter finish. After it cures for a day or two, you can hit it with the color again to get it a bit darker.
Best of luck on your project!