How to get this finish?

[andy_con]

when you go to shops etc... and they products have perfect finishes like this

https://www.clintonsretail.com/weddi...-photo-frame-1

how is it achieved, powder coating?

[magicniner]

For wood that has to look super-smooth you need a sealer coat to stop the thinner from subsequent coats deferentially soaking into the wood and creating "sink marks" which reveal the substrate texture.
Follow that with a self-levelling primer, then your finish coat. If the primer isn't 2-pack you may still get a slight matting/texture to the finish surface as thinner will leech out of the top coat into solvent evaporation drying primer giving a less than perfectly flat finish.

You also need a clean environment to spray in, ceiling and walls should be cleaned with clean wet cloth and the floor is best mopped and left wet to prevent any dust.
If you build a polythene sheet spray booth inside another structure a clean air flow with positive pressure is ideal, as is air-fed breathing apparatus.
For small items it's possible to build a spray booth like a blast cabinet with painter and the process air flow kept completely separate,

- Nick

[andy_con]

so not powder coating then.

could you get this finish on mdf? once mdf has been machined it sides are very fibery

For wood that has to look super-smooth you need a sealer coat to stop the thinner from subsequent coats deferentially soaking into the wood and creating "sink marks" which reveal the substrate texture.
Follow that with a self-levelling primer, then your finish coat. If the primer isn't 2-pack you may still get a slight matting/texture to the finish surface as thinner will leech out of the top coat into solvent evaporation drying primer giving a less than perfectly flat finish.

You also need a clean environment to spray in, ceiling and walls should be cleaned with clean wet cloth and the floor is best mopped and left wet to prevent any dust.
If you build a polythene sheet spray booth inside another structure a clean air flow with positive pressure is ideal, as is air-fed breathing apparatus.
For small items it's possible to build a spray booth like a blast cabinet with painter and the process air flow kept completely separate,

- Nick

[mekanik]

MDF isn't easy to get the sort of finish you require, as mentioned it first needs to be sealed, then rubbed down ect, very labour intensive. i have used a product called eposeal, it's a two part epoxy and very thin but when dry it can be rubbed down and should be sealed(used it to seal some Iroko windows that had water penetration)
Mike
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Gurit-SP30...EAAOSw~FNUaR5p

[andy_con]

many thanks

so whats a good wood to use then as im well aware mdf is poo. mdf just happens to be cheap and you can buy in large sheets

MDF isn't easy to get the sort of finish you require, as mentioned it first needs to be sealed, then rubbed down ect, very labour intensive. i have used a product called eposeal, it's a two part epoxy and very thin but when dry it can be rubbed down and should be sealed(used it to seal some Iroko windows that had water penetration)
Mike
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Gurit-SP30...EAAOSw~FNUaR5p

[mekanik]

Now that's the question?
I dont have a CNC so have to do my woodworking using router/spindle the advantage with CNC is you can take off very small cuts using high feed rates and i believe this vastly reduces breakout. If you don't want to make them out of acrylic i think i would try some quality beech ply, but that's only a guess.
Mike

[Ger21]

the advantage with CNC is you can take off very small cuts using high feed rates and i believe this vastly reduces breakout.

Nope. Wood tears and chips just as easily on a CNC as it does with your hands. Sometimes even more.

so whats a good wood to use then as im well aware mdf is poo

The harder it is, the better the finish will probably be.

You can get a good finish on MDF, if you seal it with epoxy, and sand until glass smooth.

[andy_con]

Link me to some suitable epoxy?

[Ger21]

West System or similar.

[magicniner]

Commercial finishing processes rarely involve much manual work, if you use a self levelling primer after sealing you will have to sand rough areas after sealing but you won't need them perfectly smooth, experimentation will determine how smooth you need to go to achieve what you need ;-)

I've achieved good finishes on wood sealed with an alcohol based automotive sealer, U-Pol's version of this is Barcoat, others are available. Snother option if you want to do more sanding is to use a Polyester based spray filler, U-Pol's version of this is Reface, it sands very easily and doesn't clog paper like hand mixed polyester fillers,

- Nick