Sounds fine. Three coats of primer may be too much but you will know as it goes on. Make sure to sand between coats.

Yes, your plan is “ok”

happy New Years!

I painted unfinished mdf doors and drawer fronts. I brushed on a water based primer followed by 3 brushed coats of farrow and ball eggshell. Came out great and we wanted the non sprayed not perfect look of the brush finish in our 1931 home. The brush finish also allowed easy touch up whenever desired.

Hi Hallet!

I’ve painted oak kitchen cabinets before and used three coats but that was mainly to fade the grain, so I think you’re right, I could probably get away with 2! Less work yay!

I will definitely do light sanding between coats.

Thanks for the tips!

Hi Beth!

Great tips!

I want to stay away from oil but that is also an option. The sides are not finished with the melamine no. I have a paint sprayer and I’m quite good with it as I refinished wood furniture with it so hopefully I can get away with not using spray cans.

I've refinished every type of furniture material you can think of. and I've used just about every single type of paint, primer, spray, brush, etc.

save the sprayer for the paint. get the primer in the cans. the oil base primer like I posted. It will lay down a nice layer for your paint. comes in a contractors pack of 6, 12, 24,,,,so you save money. you won't have to worry about thinning it for your own sprayer (because straight from the can, it's very thick) and then cleaning your sprayer.

bob vila has a tip for how to finish the edges

https://www.bobvila.com/articles/how-to-paint-mdf/

Following your story to see how it all turns out. :)

Hi JuneKnow

Thanks, I’ve joined!

Hi RedRyder

I’ll be sure to post a before and after once it’s completed. I have 2 littles underfoot right now so it may be a couple months before we complete this project :)

Hey @Renee,

Where'd you order the doors from?

Hi Sammy!
It was a local cabinet maker that does full kitchens but also sells these. They had several different designs to choose from. Cost was $10sq ft (Canadian) so extremely reasonable.
I’d recommend calling some of your local cabinetry makers to see if they do something like this.

Renee, I’m in that FB group too-there’s a lot of knowledge there. We used unfinished cabinets for our kitchen, the ones from Menards. We used Milesi paint and primer, and the little gray microfiber Whizz rollers, all recommendations based on reading there, to do ours. We’re really happy with them.