:: Painting Details

Primed Finish
Primed finish or priming refers to the preparation stage of the moldings. All MDF products are required to be primed/painted with an industry standard sealer that is referred to as primer. This sealer/primer penetrates and seals the MDF so that the finish coat of paint is applied with ease. Deco moldings guarantees that every piece of molding is primed and ready for a finish coat of paint, an enormous time saver over solid wood trims.

All our cornice trim has a triple coating of high-grade primer which we apply in our factory.  Although it looks great when installed, we do need to nail or "pin", (with a brad nailer). The holes are later dapped or caulked.  We also re-prime all the exposed joints that have been sanded. Afterwards we recommend painting with a egg shell paint.

What is the best paint to use?

If you are painted casings, trims or baseboards it would be best to use a good durable, and washable paint. In the case of cornice molding, they don't have to be cleaned. By flat paint we mean "eggshell" or "low sheen". The flatter finish the paint has, the better it hides brush strokes and other imperfections. As an added bonus, the flat paint gives the trim a soft, warm look, like plaster.

The other consideration is the sealing aspect. MDF, although much more stable then wood, is susceptible to changes in humidity. A specially in the case of a lake front or ocean front setting. It is recommend that you paint your cornice moldings with an acrylic sealer. The paint experts say that all paints have a certain amount of acrylic, but the paint with the most acrylic in it is LATEX

We also recommend that you paint within 30 days after the trim is installed to reduce the possibly of shrinkage.

For Tips on painting..
http://www.generalpaint.com/tips.html