2nd cabinet, what wood?

[nickbuol]

OK. I built my first MAME cabinet back in 1998.  I used fine grade particle board covered in vinyl.  It looks pretty good, but I am now going to sell my cabinet to a guy at work and build a second one.  I have seen some cabinets that have been painted, and some look nice and smooth, but others look, hate to say, crappy.  They are not smooth at all.  What type of wood are people using for an altra smooth painted finish?  MDF?

Thanks everyone!

http://www.buol.us/gameroom/gameroom.htm

[markrvp]

OK. I built my first MAME cabinet back in 1998.

[Q*Bert_OP]

USE PLYWOOD!
(good quality)

When painted with oil based paint it allmost looks like laminate.

[monkeybomb]

For painting, MDF is tops.  Holds the paint very well and no grain to show through.

Agreed, but the paint can't be water based.

[97thruhiker]

One option outside of painting is using laminate if you have access to a router and a laminate trimming bit.  It will cost more then painting but will give you that ultra smooth finish your looking for.  Additionally its very durable (essentially its your kitchen countertop)  You can get laminate in just about any color/colors and design pattern.  I had no experience using laminate prior to building my current cabinet and was surprised at how easy it was to do.  Besides, it was nice not having to fill imperfections, having to sand, worrying about dust landing on the painted surface, etc.  If you are really set on painting I remember reading a very good tutourial here on this forum.  Very detailed on how to get a gloss like finish.  If you search you should be able to find it.

[nickbuol]

I've thought about using laminate too.  My CP is covered with laminate that I had a guy that I used to work with put on it.  Very durable is right.

I have tons of good tools, including a very nice Dewalt router, but no laminate trim bit.

I am actually thinking about a more simple design to my next cabinet, which is what kept me away from laminate for my first cabinet.  I had some odd angles in the front that would have created some very hard to hide seams.

Maybe I will look more into that as well.  I will price up both options (MDF with oil based paint vs. laminate).  I know laminate will be more expensive, but the finished product will look nicer, and the time saves not having to fill and sand perfectly will be nice.  I've learned over the years that sometimes it isn't worth cutting all of the corners to save a few bucks.  My time has become more and more valuable lately...

If anyone can find (I'll try to search too) that tutorial on a painted cabinet, please let me know.

Thanks!

Nick

(PS, I received a private message about only being registered since 2004.  I was on here way back for my first cabinet, but I hadn't been on for such a long time that my account must have been deleted.  I really have posted more than 6 messages on here.

[RTSDaddy2]

I'll second the plywood, a good grade though.  We used birch plywood for our cabinet...very smooth finish on it, only took three coats of paint to completely cover the wood grain.  Any rough spots are my doing (where I got paint too heavy and missed sanding it), not the wood's fault.

RTSDaddy2

[Q*Bert_OP]

When I bought my Mission XX Pac man cabinet, it was one of the few in the warehouse that was in solid shape.

My Pac is Plywood and very sturdy, however other cabs (particleboard) that I saw in that warehouse  seemed flimsy, falling appart, and suffering from moisture damage.

[97thruhiker]

I just tried a search for that painting thread I mentioned and could not find it.  It was a thread that went into great detail about layering the primer and paint while using different grits of sandpaper inbetween.  If I remember correctly they did something like 4 or 5 coats of paint.  I'm not sure if it was overkill in what they did but they claimed it gave them a mirror like results.