Priming and spraying the cab. Recommended?

[RedSquirrel]

 

Instead of painting the cab, I thought perhaps spraying the whole thing would be easier. What are peoples views on this? I will be using MDF.

Is it reccomended to prime the service first (what prime color?) and then spray it? Also, what kind of spray is the best? What about car spray paint?

And finally, is it also reccomended to laquer it?

The only disadvantage I can see here is it could work out quite expensive using sprays.

With paint (and a roller) I have heard people have gotten lines visable, which is something I of course dont want.

cheers

[SirPeale]

If you're going to spray, rent a airless paint sprayer.  Practice first before using it on your cab.

Don't go with aeresol cans.  Although the finish would probably be okay, it would be prohibitively expensive.

If you're going to use a roller, use a foam roller.

[GroovyTuesdaY]

i used a fuzzy paint roller with some acrylic paint and it left a really nice textured finish.   Looks VERY professional.  I followed someone elses advice on here about that one and thought "what the heck, i'll give it shot"  and voila.  I was VERY surprised how nice it looked.  It gave it an almost hard cover look.     I am not sure why, but there are a few spots that i have paint peeling off a little.
maybe someone could enlighten more on that one, because i sanded it real good  then washed it off with a warm wash cloth and  mildly soapy water. Then  washed it again with clean water to be sure the chemicals were off  and waited couple days before painting it.   I primed it first then gave it 3 coats of paint on top of the primer and yet it still peeled.

Any words of advice out there on that one?

g~

[Apollo]

You should really put 2 coats of primer on new MDF, or use a sealer then primer. DON'T sand new MDF you will ruin the surface, just wipe it with a cloth or use sugar soap if you are worried about grease ( even grease from your hands can spoil the paint job ).  Also you need to use a special primer to get the best result. I used DULUX primerlock. It is expensive but is specifically for hard to paint surfaces like formica and MDF.
You can use a water based primer for oil based top coat but not the other way around. You also need to follow the instructions, if it says repaint after 24 hours leave it for 48 hours just to be sure ( especially if you are painting when the weather is cold or damp. It's a pain in the ass but it pays off in the end ). Make sure that your paint is properly mixed ( stirred ). If you didn't do even one of the above it could be a reason why you have peeling paint.

[Generic Eric]

I don't remember who it was, and I don't have a link.  Someone posted a paint job of their cab that the did with a "car paint sprayer."  It was very good.

[steve_pss]

I used rustoleom high lustre black laquer. I sprayed on a few light coats to let the MDF soak up a bit of paint, then I layed each piece flat and layed it on very thick. It's the only way I found to keep it from looking spotty and going through a ton of paint.

All that being said although my cab came out looking really nice I would use a foam roller next time.

[thedemo]

I sprayed my cab using a Wagner Power painter. The finish came out awesome, nice and smooth, no lines or little pieces of fuzz from the roller.