Painting melamine internal doors

[seannami]

Hi everyone

About to settle on my new house and trying to work out what I need to dive in and paint it. Admittedly I won't get to the doors for quite a good while, but still.

I think all the internal doors (or at least the wardrobe doors) are melamine coated. I would like to paint them the same colour as walls or trim (colour decisions are a thing of the future). Is it best to use a max adhesion primer, ESP or penetrol? I want to be able to use water based paint on everything.

Will trimming the doors to clear floating floors be problematic if they are melamine? One door is delaminating and is obviously MDF. Finally, is there any way to tell for certain if the doors are melamine coated? House was built in 1997 and not touched/updated since.

Thanks!

[MitchellMc]

Hi @seannami,

Congrats regarding the settlement; you must be super excited.

The wardrobe doors could likely be melamine, but I haven't come across any internal doors that are coated in melamine. Traditionally, it would be a masonite skin over a cardboard honeycomb. The Dulux Precision max adhesion primer is a fantastic product that will bond well to various hard-to-paint surfaces. This would be suitable for any internal doors that have a semi or full gloss coating. You'll be able to topcoat with your choice of water-based enamel paints.

Trimming the doors shouldn't be problematic. I'd recommend using the finest toothed blade (60T) possible on the circular saw, applying tape to both sides of the door and cutting through it, and setting the blade to only just cut through the melamine. If you follow these tips, they will all assist in preventing tear-out. Do this before painting them, and any chips can be filled with Builder's Bog before priming and painting.

Melamine coated doors will have distinctive lines on the corners where the sheets join. There is also a slight texture to their surface. When you've settled, post some images of them, and I'm sure our knowledgeable members will be able to identify them for you.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell

[seannami]

Thanks Mitchel

Now I've been in the house, I think I may have confused melamine with textured masonite. They feel slightly plastic when you tap them with fingernails. I've attached some pictures below- I assume masonite would be similar in terms of primer? I've also included a picture of the bathroom door where the panel has started to delaminate- is there anything that can be done about this? I will need to replace a few of the doors on a couple of years anyway as they are in a bit of a state, but will painting over in the interum work, or should I spac fill etc? 

Unfortunately I won't have access to the house for a couple of weeks, so can't check anything/ take more images for a while.

Thanks for your help!

 Wardrobes

delamination

Door texture

[EricL]

Hi @seannami

Thank you for the update about your doors. It's great that you've received excellent advice from my colleague @MitchellMc. I recommend still using the Dulux 1L PRECISION Maximum Strength Adhesion Primer White as a primer for your doors. Looking at the photos you posted, it seems that the door has not yet been affected by moisture damage. You can still prime it as is.

Please keep us updated with your progress, we look forward to seeing your doors painted and ready for use.

If you need further assistance, please let us know.

Eric