car spray paint on wood advice

[hairyben]

want to make a wine rack (probably mdf) finished in deep metallic red, only trouble is the only paints I can see are car type spray cans as below:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Kustom-Canz-CANDY-DEEP-R...

What would be the process of prep and finishing using something like this? Red undercoat, then fancy paint, then varnish as I'd want it fairly durable, is the paint all chemically compatible? Boggo acrylic primer and standard floor varnish?

[B17NNS]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRPHjUt6Hww

Sealing the 'end grain' will probably be the most crucial stage.

[lufbramatt]

I used to make a lot of speaker cabinets from MDF and plywood, what I found that worked really well was "wood hardener" meant for rotten wood, seals it really well and helps stop moisture making the wood expand and contract. It will never give a perfect finish like painting metal but not far off. Can get it from ronseal, rustins etc.

I used to give it a couple of coats of the wood hardener, rub it down, high build primer/filler then undercoat, colour coat then laquer if needed, then polish as it you were painting a car.

[hairyben]

Thanks for that I'll keep it in mind

The bit concerning me most was the finishing though - being what it is it'll be subject to the knocks and bangs and I'm led to believe a floor varnish is hardest so was thinking of putting that over the paint - is that right or do I need something else/something else on it first?

[Slagathore]

I've seen Epoxy used as a top coat on some woodworking projects, but I don't know if it's more for protection or for a high sheen finish, as it polishes up nicely.

Loads of videos on youtube of it, but maybe quite tricky to get a nice finish on wine rack, depending on the shape?

You can get some spray lacquers, or 2 part varnishes.

I think, with a floor varnish, if you are going for a top/protective coat to enhance the paint, that probably won't be the best option, or at least not the usualy DIY shop tinned stuff.

[CAH706]

I used zinser spray paint as primer (gives a good key) and rust oleum spray (loads of colours) as the main paint on a fireplace I did.

You could varnish over the top.

All bought from Amazon so easy to get.