Cal_kashi 
Who knows. I got pieces of old but high quality particle board with both sides laminated. I roughened the surfaces with sandpaper and they painted just fine, as long as the paint was applied sparingly. Maybe it's just the quality of the photo, but it looks like the surfaces have seen better days. However, the edges look like raw, sawed surface (as far as I can see). When you buy a shelf, the edges are always veneered, painted, or otherwise finished, so that's the norm to follow also when doing it yourself (unless it's real wood and you decide to leave it as is, of course).Originally Posted by Animeniax
Mechanically removing old, industrial paint from "scrap" particle board to repaint it was sheer madness, however, which I won't soon repeat, so I wouldn't recommend it to anybody else either.
