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Hi, I am curious as to what method people use when priming MDO. I have been rolling with a sponge roller but I'm not happy with the result. Would I get a smoother coat if I brushed or used a different texture roller? I don't have a spray booth. Any Ideas?
-------------------- Heidi Mainlee Promotions Island Falls Maine Posts: 4 | From: Maine | Registered: Jul 2003
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Welcome to Letterville Heidi! There is a search feature on Letterville that you will find handy. If you haven't found it yet it is in the top right under Post a Reply. You should find some good info there. I like to thin my primer and do more than one coat. That way it lays a little flatter. Sanding between coats will get rid of some of the roughness too. I usually use a disposable foam roller and find they give a nice smooth finish. The time saved cleaning them, the reduced amount of chemicals used and less exposure to the fumes of cleaners make them economical and environmental in my mind. You can clean them out as well if you are using waterbased paints.
-------------------- “Did you ever stop to think, and forget to start again?” -Winnie the Pooh & A.A. Milne
Kelly Thorson Kel-T-Grafix 801 Main St. Holdfast, SK S0G 2H0 ktg@sasktel.net Posts: 5496 | From: Penzance, Saskatchewan | Registered: May 2002
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You might be being a little picky. We do the same thing: roll on a coat of Zinzer water based (Jay Cook's is reserved for HDU) with a foam roller, (fill & sand edges, litely buff background) & then roll on the 1 shot bulletin background color.
If the sign was going to be something viewed up close we would probably get the aluminum coated sign board & get the color sprayed on by someone with a spray booth.
Really though, with our method, the MDOs look good to me.
-------------------- Glenn S. Harris
....back in the sign trade full time. Posts: 293 | From: Baton Rouge, LA, USA | Registered: Jul 2001
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Getting a better finish is a learned process. For the smoothest finished for close viewing, I do what Kelly does, thin the first primer coat by about 25%. The second primer coat gets thinned just a little. I use Ronan fast dry block out white.
Sand between coats. For finish coats, lettering enamel will last longer than bulletin color. The chemist at One Shot told me that Bulletin Paint is primarily made for billboards, usually a much shorter life than a business ID sign.
The method that works best for me is to let the paint breathe for about 10 minutes after applying the top coat, dry your roller some by rolling it out. I save glossy magazines & flyers for this. As gently as you can roll, roll out the board. This will break those paint bubbles that are giving you the finish you don't like. If new bubbles start forming, you are either rolling with too much pressure, or you're getting too much paint built up on your roller. Roll it out some more on the magazines.
Tips for making MDO last longer.
*Round over the edges before you paint. Paint will creep away from a sharp factory edge. The paint will be thinner there and fail sooner. It doesn't take much, a couple quick passes with a sander will do it.
*Scuff the MDO before priming. The primer will bond to the top better.
*Fill all voids in the edges. I prefer epoxy putty. You can mix a very small amount, and it gets rock hard and ready to paint very quickly.
*I triple coat the edges with full strength primer, then 2 coats of finish color. The edges is where MDO will always fail first.
*When I need a better finish, I use a yellow foam roller. There are 2 types. One is seamless, and the other one's seam is a spiral down the length of the tube. Many times the straight seam on a grey foam roller leaves marks in the paint.
*Use lettering enamel over bulletin color.
*Use the search button to find where this topic has been discussed before. There are many ways to paint an MDO board. But you have to try them yourself. Some say they have great luck with latex.... I never have. Some put a nail part way through the end of the roller so the handle stops the roller from moving, then they drag it across the board to "tip" off the paint. I've never had any luck with that either. It always streaked the paint for me. There are a variety of primers that are used by many. Be careful... some are not very permanent outdoors, or don't soak into MDO well enough to stay on for any length of time.
So gather in as much info as you can, then try some methods and find out what works best for you.
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