Paint Inside MDF Cabinet - Do I have to?

[jeffhlewis]

I had a quick question about interior cabinet primer/paint.

My cab is made out of 3/4 MDF.  I had read somewhere that you should prime/paint the inside of the cabinet to seal the wood.  This is a lot of extra work and would just be a general pain in the [rear], and I've seen a lot of good cabs that don't do it...is this a requirement? Will the inside of my cab turn to mush eventually if I don't prime it?

[fjl]

It's up to you. But it's mostly a precaution incase it gets wet, humidity, bug infestations. It can prevent mold, stains, absorbing smells, remove the MDF smell. I hate the smell of MDF and it's not even healthy.

But it can also be just to make the inside look nice as well.

[jeffhlewis]

If I do it can I just throw a coat of black on there? is that enough? or should I prime first?

I really don't care how the inside "looks", it's just for protective reasons.

[Blanka]

Yeah, just lock in the formaldehyde damps! MDF stinks way to long without paint. And you can spill beers over your cab when the inside is done.

[sstorkel]

If I do it can I just throw a coat of black on there? is that enough? or should I prime first?

I really don't care how the inside "looks", it's just for protective reasons.

The problem with MDF is that it soaks up paint like a sponge. If you want good coverage, you'll either have to use a lot of paint... or prime first.

[Wade]

I had a quick question about interior cabinet primer/paint.

My cab is made out of 3/4 MDF.  I had read somewhere that you should prime/paint the inside of the cabinet to seal the wood.  This is a lot of extra work and would just be a general pain in the [rear], and I've seen a lot of good cabs that don't do it...is this a requirement? Will the inside of my cab turn to mush eventually if I don't prime it?

Not at all necessary.  Do it only if you want to.

Wade

[fjl]

That's true as well. It's not neccessary nor required. But there are benefits to painting the inside as already described.

If I do it can I just throw a coat of black on there? is that enough? or should I prime first?

I really don't care how the inside "looks", it's just for protective reasons.

The problem with MDF is that it soaks up paint like a sponge. If you want good coverage, you'll either have to use a lot of paint... or prime first.

Even priming requires a few coats for MDF.

[Trebeck]

I found that if you look at my old cab from the player 1 side i could see between the bezel and the monitor and there was the nice bright MDF.  Damnit.  Cab 2 I slapped in black no primer and now that doesn't happen.

-Beck

[jeffhlewis]

I have to paint the fringes anyway (I have a 3/4" inset around the whole cab) so I'm just going to slap a coat of black on there to dampen the light and prevent it from turning to mush. 

I'm also going to put black electrical tape around the interior wood joints to prevent light leaks...as good as my project has turned out so far I'm no bob villa when it comes to woodcutting.

[ChadTower]

Not necessary but if you think there is even a chance that you will later regret not doing it... then do it now.  It's a much bigger pain to do once the parts are in and you really don't want something as simple as paint bugging you about your project when it's "done".

[JeepMonkey]

I agree with Chad.  Spend the few hours of unfortunate PITA work up front.

[Malenko]

I always prime, the only cab I have that I didnt was the MKII because it didnt smell at all and Im lazy. I sealed all the rest to get rid of the smoke smell, it was horrible.