Help with splintering desk

[still idol]

Hi guys, im not much of an expert at woodworking so i would appreciate if you could help me, my desk is a bit old and i noticed that the top is splintering. Is there anyway I can unsplinter the top? I have no idea what type of wood it is but i have a picture of it. Thanks.

[vale cove]

That looks like MDF, unfortunately this is par for the course. Usually this is covered with some other material if it's going to be used like a desk top

[crimson dagger]

Is it possible your desk is upside down? It looks like the front white should be on top as well.

[still idol]

Now that i check under it, i think it has been screwed the wrong way round 😂

[still idol]

What (cheap) materials do you recommend?

[crimson dagger]

lol, yeah, looks like an Ikea table top?

[still idol]

It came with the house i guess so

[crimson dagger]

ah

[crimson dagger]

Usually with a veneer, or use a good quality plywood instead of MDF

Ideally it's solid hardwood

[reef verge]

can you flip it over? for a low-cost desktop like this, it would almost certainly cost more money and time to put a laminate or veneer over the current top (bottom?) than just replacing it.

[still idol]

Wouldnt the splinters fall on the floor if i do that?

[vale cove]

Yes I suppose, but it will stop splintering when you stop using it as a desk surface

[restive trellis]

If the other side is completely wrecked , unless you top it (Glass, perspex, something else) your only real option is a film finish like paint or varnish that's going to hold the fibres together & act like the top surface.

MDF primer, sand, MDF primer, sand, MDF primer, sand, paint as direct on tin.

By the time you've bought MDF primer, paint, brush cleaner, rollers & sleeve, tape, and sandpaper, you might be in the ballpark of buying a new peice of prefinished material.