I extended the layout and plan to add masonite later. No need to do anything to the masonite, but use latex paint from HD or Lowes applied w/ a roller brush. To avoid repainting, you can get small swatches of paint, or visit their 'oops' area where you can find dirt cheap paint people didn't want. I get paint samples from there for .50$ which is enough for securing groundfoam. If you're lucky to find two earth-tones there, you can mix/match the colors.
Have fun!
I don't think any sealing or priming is necessary. I live in the Pacific Northwest where humidity is always present. My un-sealed un-primed fascia has been up over a year with no problems at all. Just two coats of good interior latex egg shell finish wall paint.
I used a dark green paint. The only time priming might be in order would be if you were going to have a light final coat, in which case a light gray flat finish paint would be a good primer.
Awesome. Thanks all, I will try thing and should work well. The porosity seems key to golfing paint, but also a potential cause of buckling.
Here in dry Northern California, humidity does not get too high and when it does it's almost certainly cold (35-55F) to the air isn't carrying a lot of moisture.
Would sealing be still required?
NP
I use masonite as fascia on my layout. No primer. I just roll it on. 1 coat works well, 2 better. 2 coats makes a more uniform texture...at least for me since I use satin latex..
Mark H
Modeling in HO...Reading and Conrail together in an alternate history.
On my previous layout I don't know whether it was Masonite or a generic but I used it to form my fascia. I had a terrible problem with buckling as it absorbed moisture in the humid part of the year and expanded. For that reason I would be inclined to use an oil based paint. On the current layout I used left over paneling for the fascia. I'm going to use unpainted hardboard fo the valance and instead of screw holes I am going to cut slots to allow the board to float as it expands and contracts.
NP, Assuming you are referring to generic tempered hardboard and not true Masonite. My layout lives in a garage and in the interest of mitigating moisture transfer and warping I brush coated the back side of the tempered hardboard with a generous coat of polyurethane before priming and painting the smooth side with a roller. Used flat interior acrylic latex paint, but maybe a semi-gloss or satin would have been better as the flat marks up easy and is difficult to clean.
Good luck and regards, Peter
If I remember right I primed as it was easier to prime the whole thing, then spot prime.
I use a roller and no surface prep and latex paint.
Mike
“When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote ‘happy’. They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life.” -- John Lennon
If you have a sprayer capable of handling latex paint and nothing else in the room that would be affected by the residual dust, you could spray both the primer and the finished colour. I don't recall if I used a primer or not, but it would have been applied with a roller, as was the paint. Most of my backdrop is the drywall of the room, but I did use Masonite to cove the corners. The only sanding needed was on the taped and mudded joints.
Wayne
I've had no issues with not priming it. I used Glidden flat in the main layout room. On the Cascade Branch's fascia I used a Rustoleum satin paint, also without primer.
While the surface seems slick and likely to require priming, in actuality it's rather porous and absorbs the paint readily, resulted in good adhesion.
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
Spray or brush on primer? I guess brand name won't help me as you are on the other side of the pond ... ?
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How do you paint on masonite? Sand, prime then indoor latex paint? Bit painful if you ask me.