Paint as an option on MDF..........?

[Oldskool]

I started off as being gung-ho to do my whole cab in laminate, but my enthusiasm has worn.

I'm considering painting the base half of my UAII.  (MDF)

My CP will be laminated, but the next area of concern is the "foot" area when sitting at the cab on bar stools.

Would the finish be durable enough to take the odd kick?

Is one type of paint better than another?

A "plastic" paint perhaps? (I've seen paint where there appears to be some sort of plastic compound IN the paint itself)

[Generic Eric]

You could cover the MDF with a Plexi kick plate

[pmc]

I used a floor and porch paint figuring it'd be really durable. It looks awesome, but seems as soft as a normal interior latex. It scratches pretty easy. I may cover with clearcoat after I apply artwork.

Anyway, the reason for my post is to suggest that you select your paint carefully. I'd suggest Rustoleum's enamel paints. I used some this summer on something else and it came out super durable, hard, glossy, and seemingly indestructable. I was really impressed. Clean-up was a mess though (not water-based).

Good luck!

- Patrick

[NoOne=NBA=]

I used flat black, covered with "granite" spatter paint, covered with 2 layers of Matte Clear on mine, and haven't had ANY problem with it at all.

The white/gray spattering in the granite paint helps hide any shoe marks you might get as well.

[pocketbikez]

i second the vote for rustoleum industrial enamel. its some pretty tough stuff.

[Sprucemoose]

I would suggest using the black rubber kick plates that are commonly used for kitchen cabinets.  You can buy them cheap at lowes and home depot and they last a long time.  I put them on my cocktail cab and they work great.

[screaming]

I started off as being gung-ho to do my whole cab in laminate, but my enthusiasm has worn.

  Lighten up there, son! You'll be uber-happy once you get passed those boring parts. When you've never built one of these before, it's hard to see the whole picture. When I was at that point, I remember thinking that my arcade was never going to get done.. but there I was this morning playing a sweet game of Final Fight! *drool*

My CP will be laminated, but the next area of concern is the "foot" area when sitting at the cab on bar stools.

Would the finish be durable enough to take the odd kick?

  I used plain old black semi-gloss paint with about 6 or 7 coats of paint. Other than dirt or dust, I don't see there being a real problem.  It WILL get dirty though, and it WILL get scuffed up from people getting excited and stepping all over it, or whatever. No matter what you do, you'll eventually have to replace a kickplate or repaint at some point. Just accept it

  Personally, I'm not too worried about it. Should I be? Probably, but a metal or plexiglass kickplate is something I can install whenever I want and doesn't need to be installed when I'm building the cabinet. I'll see what my wear-and-tear will be first.

/Steve

[allroy1975]

I did mine in high gloss indoor wall paint.

Did 2 (maybe 3) coats.  it holds up to me kicking the crap out of it with my soft Chuck Taylors.  If you're a Steel toed Doc Martins kinda guy...you might want to build the machine out of steel.  At least the front panel.  

Allroy

[Stingray]

I'll be painting mine in the next couple of weeks. Being that I have access to a professional auto paint shop, I'll be painting mine with two part urethane automotive paint. Overkill? Maybe, but it will be a serously tough finish. This doesn't mean it won't get scuffed & scratched from enthusiastic play, but it will be alot more durable than latex or enamel.

-S

[Hammerbot]

If you want a really tough paint use automotive epoxy paint. We paint our test lab machines with it and it resists chips in the paint on steel tubing when we drop wrenches and screwdrivers on them.

My cab is painted with sprayed gloss enamel.

I would recommend anything but RUSTOLEUM.

I hate working with that slow drying, sagging, dripping, running crap...

My next cab will be rolled with Hammerite. I love that hammered finish look.