Mdf

[Magpie]

I'm making Dora the Explorer for a young friend of mine (segmentation style) and wondered if MDF or plywood would be the better choice (I almost always use plain pine or cypress, but can't get a piece of pine big enough). How do the edges look and finish? My personal slave only has one day off this week to take me to the wood store, so I have to pick the right thing the first time!

[Forester21]

Are you painting it or staining it? If yoiu paint, the edges will be covered in either case.
T

[Magpie]

I usually stain it with acrylic paint--Neal Moore gave me directions last year on how to do thin washes of acrylic paints and that's my favorite style for colored stuff right now

[jigsue]

Staining will be difficult with MDF, I would imagine and there is no grain to make staining stand out. However, once sanded and sealed, MDF provides a great surface for acrylic painting. I use MDF for most things that I am going to paint. You don't require particularly thin washes, one or two coats of barely thinned acrylic will give you a lovely finish. End it with a stingy spray of varnish and it should look great!

Sue

[Magpie]

Thanks, you guys I'm gonna go with MDF since I found the plywood available to me here pretty horrible.