Is All MDF Created Equal?

[Marineboy]

I plan to board the lower half of my hallway with 6mm MDF, which I will rout with V grooves 100mm apart, in order to create the impression of T&G boards. I will paint with white eggshell.

I bought a small MDF board from B&Q to set up my router and make a jig to ensure repeatability of the groove spacing. After routing the grooves I see that the cuts are very 'wooly'. Even when sanded the finish leaves something to be desired.

Of course, I understand that MDF is made of fibres - however, I don't recall other MDF I have used to be quite so wooly. Are there different grades/qualities of MDF, and would I be better getting the sheets I need from a proper timber supplier or builders' merchants?

 

[porker]

I've found the standard (ie not MRMDF) to be a bit wooly as you say. I use MRMDF for pretty much everything and the finish is better. Last lot I bought was Medite which I understand is about as good as it gets.

 

[Steve Maskery]

They are definitely not all the same!

Buy MRMDF (Moisture-resistant MDF). It's not much more expensive but nowhere near as woolly.

Did you know that you can buy MRMDF already machined to get that T&G appearance? Ask at your timberyard.

S

 

[wallace]

You can get sheets already grooved for T&G appearance, I think it is water resistant as well

 

[Homers double]

Not to long ago I finished off a hallway for a client, they had already purchased the sheets of T&G MRMDF, i hadn't encountered it before but found out it's readily available.
I really wouldn't be looking to grove it my self, it would take way to long to get perfect.
You can get it pre primed as well which makes painting it a tad quicker

 

[ColeyS1]

Personally I'd go for either 9 or 12mm mdf. If you put a v groove in 6mm mdf there won't be much left.

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

 

[MikeG.]

Check the price first. The pre-grooved stuff costs an arm and a leg.

 

[Finial]

Not all MR MDF is created equal. I've tried some that was claimed to be moisture resistant but was too woolly to use for my purposes. I can't remember the brand. Medite seems good.

 

[Marineboy]

Thanks for all the replies. MRMDF seems the way to go, I still fancy doing the grooving myself, have done the test piece with my Festool router and track and it has worked out well and not too time consuming.

 

[GeordieStew]

What's the average cost difference between Medite, MRMDF and MDF?

 

[Buckeye]

Medite is a brand who make standard and MR MDF. You can find their stockists here https://mdfosb.com/en/stockists. Their mdf and mrmdf is good quality. The mrmdf machines well.

 

[oakmitre]

B&Q now use medite ( standard not MRMDF ). Comparing prices including VAT it is the same price as some timber merchants, £21.50 for an 18x1200x2400 sheet. B&Q also seem to store it better indoors for MDF and give 10 free cuts.

 

[GeordieStew]

B&Q now use medite ( standard not MRMDF ). Comparing prices including VAT it is the same price as some timber merchants, £21.50 for an 18x1200x2400 sheet. B&Q also seem to store it better indoors for MDF and give 10 free cuts.

Hmm. There's a Medite MDF and a Medite MRMDF?

Sorry. Just looked. Answer is yes.

https://mdfosb.com/en/medite/products

 

[Steve Maskery]

B&Q now use medite ( standard not MRMDF ). Comparing prices including VAT it is the same price as some timber merchants, £21.50 for an 18x1200x2400 sheet. B&Q also seem to store it better indoors for MDF and give 10 free cuts.

That is interesting, as it's a metric size. A trad 8x4 sheet is 2440 x 1220.

GeordieStew - yes.

 

[Marineboy]

Just looked at the label on my bit of MDF from B&Q and it doesn't mention Medite as the maker - wonder if it is stacked separately in the warehouse?

 

[will1983]

I bought a sheet of 6mm from BnQ the other week, that was 2440x1220mm.

 

[oakmitre]

Sorry the small size was my mistake. I took these photos 141017 in B&Q Trafford Park, opposite the panel saw.

 

[Ring]

https://www.homebase.co.uk/easipanel-to ... mm_p880113. any good saw this the other day.

 

[Duncan A]

I often see the statement that MRMDF doesn't cost much extra but last time I considered buying some, it was considerably more expensive than standard MDF and I see that Ridgeons are currently quoting £41.59 for 18mm MRMDF and £32.92 for their premier grade 18mm standard MDF.
Travis Perkins are quoting £20.80 and £37.57 respectively, plus VAT, including a discount, for Caber, not Medite.
Comparing to the £22-ish for standard MDF from the bigger stores, there's a massive difference for MRMDF.
So, do these figures converge greatly with trade discounts or am I going to the wrong places?
I would normally only want to buy two or three sheets and delivery would need to be factored in if I wasn't buying locally.
Buying advice welcome!
Duncan

 

[Roughcut]

I often see the statement that MRMDF doesn't cost much extra but last time I considered buying some, it was considerably more expensive than standard MDF and I see that Ridgeons are currently quoting £41.59 for 18mm MRMDF and £32.92 for their premier grade 18mm standard MDF.
Travis Perkins are quoting £20.80 and £37.57 respectively, plus VAT, including a discount, for Caber, not Medite.
Comparing to the £22-ish for standard MDF from the bigger stores, there's a massive difference for MRMDF.
So, do these figures converge greatly with trade discounts or am I going to the wrong places?
I would normally only want to buy two or three sheets and delivery would need to be factored in if I wasn't buying locally.
Buying advice welcome!
Duncan

I've recently been using some 18mm MRMDF from Wickes.
It doesn't have a brand name stamped on the board but it seems to be a decent product in my opinion.
I bought half a dozen of them and at the time, and if you bought 3 off they were on offer for £23 ish each.
It's the first time i've used MRMDF but I noticed router profiled edges do seem cleaner and less fluffy than with standard MDF.