The tops of these bedside tables are in MDF. The paint had peeled, and water had caused an unattractive bubble only fixed by sanding right back to wood.  I primed them, twice, hand sanding between coats, to get the best edge without MDF ‘fur’. The repeated motif runs around the top, vertically down the legs, then horizontally round the sides and drawers, at the same level, for symmetry.