Hmmm... javeryh's weird cab

[bobbyb13]

Heheh-
We're all incompetent and moving backwards compared to Ond.
 
Not sure what you are shooting for ultimately but that rested sheet metal look could be damn cool.

I gave up long ago on "planning to my vision" and have adopted the much more realistic "temper my expectations to my skillset" approach.
 

You are smarter than I am - and get a lot more done.

[javeryh]

yeah I'm going to have to do a bunch of little test panels before deciding on the effect I want. In addition to looking like it's made out of metal or plastic or anything but wood I want the paint to be peeling.

I've seen tricks where people paint something with metal paint and then add toothpaste or white-out to the corners and places where paint would logically chip and then paint the top coat. Once that dries you just wipe off the toothpaste and it gives you a peeling effect showing the metal paint underneath the top coat. Then you water down brown and yellow paint to make it look muddy and brush it on to the inside corners or ledges to build up grime.

I think the hardest part is going to be picking out the right colored paint.

[javeryh]

OK... I think I hate MDF now. This past weekend I spent 3(!) hours on just routing out the material on ONE side of the cabinet. It took so long and I was covered in dust. It also didn't come out perfect but nothing that a little bondo can't fix. It was much harder than I thought it would be to maintain a perfect depth and once you cut below the surface of MDF it loses its "perfect" finish so bondo is basically a requirement here.

I was hoping to do both sides but I ran out of daylight and now I'm dreading going back to it. But I think this is the last major thing to do for the cabinet itself in the workshop before I can start painting.

I'll post pics later... I tried to document what I was doing but it went from setup to final shots because I was just trying to get it done.

 

[Ond]

OK... I think I hate MDF now. This past weekend I spent 3(!) hours on just routing out the material on ONE side of the cabinet. It took so long and I was covered in dust. It also didn't come out perfect but nothing that a little bondo can't fix. It was much harder than I thought it would be to maintain a perfect depth and once you cut below the surface of MDF it loses its "perfect" finish so bondo is basically a requirement here.

I was hoping to do both sides but I ran out of daylight and now I'm dreading going back to it. But I think this is the last major thing to do for the cabinet itself in the workshop before I can start painting.

I'll post pics later... I tried to document what I was doing but it went from setup to final shots because I was just trying to get it done.

 

yeah, I don't blame you for hating on MDF. The kind of work you're attempting is no fun at all, especially as a first go. MDF turns into a rough hairy mess after routing, that's why surface finishing with fillers is vital to transform that surface into a tough smooth one, suitable for painting. After using Bondo to repair larger voids and mistakes, solvent based primer filler LOVES MDF. It soaks in to the surface, toughens it and allows you to sand all that rough crap away. At least two coats and progressive sanding, and you'll be in a much better place    Happy to help with the Marquee in any way if I can. 

[javeryh]

Thanks Ond! I'm going to start workshopping ideas for the marquee once I get the cabinet fully built - so soon.

Here are a few shots showing what the finished side panel will look like (unpainted). The top cutouts are recessed and the bottom cutouts stick out - each about 1/4".





The darker areas on the inside edges of the cutouts are from the brand new router bit burning the material. It is so cheap I'm a little nervous it will hold up when I do the other side... I am dreading it! 

I made a little attachment to my router that was supposed to be the exact thickness of the pattern.





I started cutting in the middle and moved out towards the edges staying about 1/8" from my line. I had to make sure there was always enough edge for the router to rest on while cutting, which was kind of a pain. Once I had it roughed out, I added the pattern and removed the MDF square that I had attached to the base. Then I just ran the pattern but around the pattern giving me a "perfect" cutout.

But it's not that perfect. I slipped in one spot so there is a ding I need to repair with bondo and keeping a dead perfect depth was next to impossible in practice even though in my head it should have worked. So I have to skim the surface of the cutouts with bondo to make everything even. It should look good when it's done bit it's like triple the work that I thought it would be. 

[bobbyb13]

Looks like nice work to me!
What you are up to is challenging stuff so don't knock yourself too hard.