Painting a glossy finish on MDF

[RaiV3R]

Hey guys! So I've been a lurker here for awhile, I've actually gotten all my answers from just reading other topics. I have to thank all of you for inspiring me to work on a cabinet, I've learned so much from BYOAC just by simply reading.

However this time I'm in stumped. So the day has finally come to where I'm about to start painting my Vewlix inspired cab. However, I can't for the life of me figure out what would be a good way to paint MDF. Which I need to do before I can start assembling and putting my buttons into my cp.

I'm wanting a glossy mirror like finish but not sure how to approach this since there seems to be TONS of ways to do it. I'm prepared for the hard work and patience needed to do it. So far, I bought an HVLP gun from HFT that I plan to use instead of a foam roller. I hear it gives better results and I already had a compressor handy.

A few quick questions, since I'm totally lost when it comes to painting.

Should I go for an oil based or water based paint?

Any particular brand you guys would recommend?

How to go about to get a nice clean glossy looking finish?

Thanks in advance!

[HaRuMaN]

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=87756.0

[Eddie_Brock]

Should I go for an oil based or water based paint?
    I used oil, mostly because I'm oldschool. Lots of thin coats
Any particular brand you guys would recommend?
     Try Zinsser B-I-N Primer/Sealer, some would argue the best primer out there. It does a good job of sealing the MDF, as it can 'offgas' for sometime. The paint was just a high-gloss interior alkyd paint. Don't cheap out on quality
How to go about to get a nice clean glossy looking finish?
     Lots of sanding, lots of coats of paint. Two coats of primer, sand, paint. Keep sanding between coats, going from a rougher grit to a smoother grit as you go along. I can't say how many coats I did on my cabinet (gloss black by the way), but it came out looking great. By far the longest process of the cabinet build. Just take your time. I also used a foam roller, as it gave me the smoothest coats each time. Read the post above, it's got lots of great info in it.

[RaiV3R]

Really helpful info! I'll be going out later today to buy a primer. So I was really wanting to settle on something more concrete than what I get told at Home Depot and whatnot. (Was going for a Kilz Premium Primer at first.)

I'll be sure to read that topic HarumaN! I can't believe I never found that one, a work log just like that is what I was looking for.

Thanks guys!