Applying veneer

[DragonImprovements]

Hi all,

As this is my first attempt at applying any sort of veneer i thought id ask here first.

I have bought some "peal and stick" veneer. Below is the project (far from finished) i will be covering. Ive read that as I'm applying the veneer to ply i should seal the ply, any recommendations as what i should use to seal it? After sealing do i then slightly sand to give it a key?

I am also conceded about the edges. How do you go about getting a perfect edge? do the top first then the side? or side, then top?

I have youtube'd a few videos but i can only seem to find people doing a basic sheet, with no corners.

 

[DragonImprovements]

Anyone?

 

[marcros]

I would do the sides then the top. Never used peel and stick veneer so can't comment on the rest of the questions. Have you bought the veneer yet? If not I would use standard veneer and liquid hide glue. Glue the veneer, clamp with cauls and when dry trim to size with a scalpel.

 

[Graham Orm]

How much of that are you veneering?

 

[DragonImprovements]

How much of that are you veneering?

All of it

 

[StevieB]

The sides look a bit uneven for veneering - you need a dead flat surface of the veneer will not adhere properly. Never used self adhesive veneer sheets, but I would try a test area without priming first - if the adhesive is already stuck to the sheet as a 'film' it is unlikely to soak into the substrate in the same way that a water based pva would.

Steve

 

[DragonImprovements]

The piece is just held together for the purpose of the picture. So no where near finished or even lined up for that matter, ha.

Thanks Steve, think in going to try 2 off cuts. 1 primed 1 not.

 

[Peter Sefton]

I have never used peel and stick veneer so can't comment on that side of things.

But I do have some general advice
We would usually apply veneer at 90 degrees to the grain direction of the ply face.
The ply looks like it may have sanding marks or bumps which need to be dealt with.
I would not be confident of veneering over so much end grain ply in fact I not keen on veneering over ply at all unless I am very confident of it's quality.
I would possibly finish the main construction and then cover it with 4mm MDF glued to the substrate and veneer over that.

These are the kind of issues we cover on our short veneering course and the reasons behind the advice.

Looks like an interesting project Peter

 

[Graham Orm]

I have never used peel and stick veneer so can't comment on that side of things.

But I do have some general advice
We would usually apply veneer at 90 degrees to the grain direction of the ply face.
The ply looks like it may have sanding marks or bumps which need to be dealt with.
I would not be confident of veneering over so much end grain ply in fact I not keen on veneering over ply at all unless I am very confident of it's quality.
I would possibly finish the main construction and then cover it with 4mm MDF glued to the substrate and veneer over that.

These are the kind of issues we cover on our short veneering course and the reasons behind the advice.

Looks like an interesting project Peter

Good advice Peter. I would add that it's a good idea to fill the joints where the MDF overlaps at the edges. Even the tinyest crack will telegraph through the veneer. I use car body filler. It sets hard and is easy to get smooth. Have you had problems veneering over ply in the past?

For what it's worth I would do the bottom first, then the edges so that the edge of the bottom veneer is hidden, then likewise, overlap the edge of that with the top piece. I wouldn't be confident about a finish at all on the piece shown above.

 

[DragonImprovements]

Cheers pete.

The piece will be fully sanded when constructed. I did worry about the amount of end grain. Maybe i might just cover the end grains.

Thanks again guys. Will let you know how it goes

 

[marcros]

Peter, given a free choice of substrate- well birch ply or mrmdf, what would be your preference for small items?

 

[andersonec]

Why have you got so many small pieces in the upright section? If it's going to be veneered I would have thought three or four pieces full width going 90 deg to the top and bottom (upright and not flat) would make the sides easier to flatten and you would not have the problem of squaring up the four sides of the upright.

Andy

 

[andersonec]

Peter, given a free choice of substrate- well birch ply or mrmdf, what would be your preference for small items?

Mark.

If it's a box and you are not going to veneer the inside which will be seen then Birch ply, if the inside is not veneered and not to be seen and to keep the cost down the mrmdf

Andy

 

[DragonImprovements]

Why have you got so many small pieces in the upright section? If it's going to be veneered I would have thought three or four pieces full width going 90 deg to the top and bottom (upright and not flat) would make the sides easier to flatten and you would not have the problem of squaring up the four sides of the upright.



Andy

Agreed your sketch would be an easier way to build, but the small sections stacked on top of each i managed to source free of charge. They were off cuts from larger sheets. So the design has sort of been built around them, after they had been sized.

Its coming along, but i will definitely be taking the advice and lining the edges with 4mm mdf

 

[Peter Sefton]

Good advice Peter. I would add that it's a good idea to fill the joints where the MDF overlaps at the edges. Even the tinyest crack will telegraph through the veneer. I use car body filler. It sets hard and is easy to get smooth. Have you had problems veneering over ply in the past?

Grayorm
You are right telegraphing is one of the issues, the amount of plywood end grain and the possibility of blisters in the ply surface all of which effect the finished project. I have had issues with all three over the years.
Two pack filler is great and UF glue is gap filling rather than PVA which will not help if the prep isn't spot on, which it needs to be.
Peter

 

[Peter Sefton]

Peter, given a free choice of substrate- well birch ply or mrmdf, what would be your preference for small items?

Marcros
I do prefer veneering onto MDF whenever possible, but if the substrate is 6mm or thinner I may choose to use Birch ply for strength, depending on the job it is doing or size of the project.
MR MDF is great in theory but can cause more colour telegraphing if using Sycamore or light veneers which then need other techniques to over come the induced problem.

Cheers Peter

 

[MIGNAL]

I used to veneer multiple laminations of Birch ply and the end grain can be a real problem. The method that I used to get around it was to seal, sand back, seal, sand back, seal with Hide glue. You really need to get it so that the end grain is not going to expand any further.