I have a crappy MDF 'cherry oak' desk.. with a bunch of scratches and chips in it

[RbSX]

Hey guys, I have a whole bunch of scratches on my desk, and because it's MDF the scratches are a bright white, and stick out like a sore thumb.

Is there any ways to patch this up? Should I just get a stain and restain the desk?

 

[mpitts]

Cherry Oak colored Sharpie?

 

[Pepsi90919]

yes restain the MDF lol

 

[RbSX]

Originally posted by: mpitts
Cherry Oak colored Sharpie?

Thats what I was thinking about. the problem is that i'd end up 'sharpying' 50% of the desk and I may as well just restain the whole desk.

Or just buy a new one.. but I'd feel like a real idiot throwing my desk out after just a year.

I'll never buy anything MDF again (but I just don't have an ikea close enough to me) so there weren't any other affordable desks.

 

[mercanucaribe]

Buy some veneer and glue it on yourself.

 

[RbSX]

Originally posted by: mercanucaribe
Buy some veneer and glue it on yourself.

hmm thats a good idea, but where would I buy wood veneers?

and how would I go about color matching it?

 

[thedarkwolf]

Paint it

 

[rhino56]

sand it down and refinish it.

 

[Alone]

Sand it down a bit and put a new finish on it. It'll look better anyways, plus it'll give you more time before it needs to be done again.

 

[giantpinkbunnyhead]

If you sand it down, be sure you don't sand too deep of you'll sand the veneer clean off. raw MDF is highly unattractive. If the scratches are deeper than the veneer, the cheapest option (not the best, but it will lessen the eyesore) is to buy some cherry wood putty or even a touch-up stick from a moulding shop. Or perhaps Lowes/Home Depot carries the stuff. If the surface was solid cherry, you wouldn't have to worry about sanding too deep. Or, depending on the desk... you might even just replace the entire desktop.

 

[huberm]

before you sand it make sure it is wood veneer and not a laminate

 

[0roo0roo]

its a no hoper
go to office supply store and buy a flat desk protector thing. they come in colors.. leather, and clear. you can put pictures or whatever under the clear one and it'll cover whatever ugliness you want. nifty stuff. a must have for any desk, mdf cuz its not durable, and on nice wood cuz well, you dont wanna f*ck it up

 

[GRIFFIN1]

Buy some red oak veneer

Sand the desk down to bare MDF

Apply regular wood glue to the desk and veneer. You need to completely coat both surfaces with glue. Let the glue dry.

Put the veneer on the desk and use a regular clothes iron on the cotton setting to iron the veneer to the desk. The heat from the iron causes the dried glue to melt. Start in the middle of the desk and slowly move towards the edges. It helps if you can keep pressure on the veneer as it cools. I held the iron in my right hand and rubber sanding block with no sand paper in my left hand. I would move the iron and sanding block along the surface of the veneer at a rate of about 1 inch every 10 seconds with the sanding block keeping pressure on the area that had just been melted.

I used a router with flush trim bit to trim off the excess veneer along the edges. A sharp utility knife might work.

Sand the veneer with some fine sandpaper and apply a finish.

It's a lot less trouble to just buy a new desk.

 

[j00fek]

mdf is not worth the time to fix

 

[MercenaryForHire]

Pony up the whole CDN$100 and buy a new one.

- M4H

 

[MikeyIs4Dcats]

rather than veneer, buy some plastic laminate from a cabinet shop or home depot and use contact cement to put it on top. You will never have to worry about it again.

 

[irishScott]

Power Sander + Refinish?

 

[RbSX]

Originally posted by: MercenaryForHire
Pony up the whole CDN$100 and buy a new one.

- M4H

I've honestly thought about it.