Hardening MDF

[Geoff_S]

Hands up, I made a mistake.

I panelled our bathroom in MR MDF which has worked just fine. However, I bought MDF skirting without thinking, not MR MDF.

Now, there has been a drip from the shower door when it is opened, just enough to sit on the skirting and cause the paint to lift and get into the MDF skirting. Enough to make the MDF open up and become fibrous.

Option 1 .. pull out the piece of skirting in question and rout and fit new piece of MR MDF. Major pain.

Option 2 .. dry out and sand back the existing bit of skirting. My plan is to then coat in shellac primer but is there some sort of hardener that can
just hold the MDF fibres that have expanded? Or would a runny epoxy dripped into the MDF be OK, followed by the shellac?

Ta, Geoff

 

[HappyHacker]

No guarantee it will work with MDF but I have used the stuff to harden rotten wood successfully on soft wood. It is very thin and soaks in well and sets hard.

I have always thrown wet MDF away so have never tried anything.

 

[MikeJhn]

I have successfully used thin CA glue to harden lifted fibres of MDF, also useful for hardening holes drilled for fixings, drill the hole thread in the fixing remove the screw and drip in thin CA until the MDF will not take anymore wait for it to go off fully and replace the fixing, hanging wardrobe doors still in use after six years.

 

[Geoff_S]

I have successfully used thin CA glue to harden lifted fibres of MDF, also useful for hardening holes drilled for fixings, drill the hole thread in the fixing remove the screw and drip in thin CA until the MDF will not take anymore wait for it to go off fully and replace the fixing, hanging wardrobe doors still in use after six years.

That's the stuff!!

I knew that there is a runny glue that I used to use on my modelling years ago. I've been Google'ing epoxy resin with no success.

Yep, cyanoacrylate, that's the one!! Many thanks.

 

[Geoff_S]

No guarantee it will work with MDF but I have used the stuff to harden rotten wood successfully on soft wood. It is very thin and soaks in well and sets hard.

I have always thrown wet MDF away so have never tried anything.

I had thought about that and did wonder whether it would work on MDF.