veneer went wrong :(

[thomaskennedy]

i went to my shop to have a look at my veneer around 4 days ago, only to find that one side had bubbled! i went down today and found that the other side had bubbled!

what do i do now? i guess ill have to ripp it all off and start again!
i used contact adhesive on it, maybe this is the problem? or maybe because it is just wood (ie. not the backed stuff!)

help would be apreciated!

Cheers

Tom

 

[Adam]

I can't help with your current predicament, only to say I have been successfull with regular PVA in the past.

Adam

 

[sawdustalley]

Could be moisture?

Maybe you did not wait long enough once applying the contact cement. You are meant to leave it till it becomes just tacky - but dry.

Did you apply it to both surfaces are you are suppost to?

 

[Chris Knight]

Tom,

I know people do it but I would never use contact adhesive for veneering. There are just so many ways for it to go wrong and it is hard to correct the problems when they do arise. In your case, heat (as in sun through a window) or solvents as in any finish, can cause bubbles and also moisture if the veneer was not stuck down properly all over in the first place.

Veneering demands and gets a huge amount of attention in the woodworking literature and before you waste money on expensive veneers and disappointing failures, I recommend you read a book on the subject. I have many books on veneering but the one I mostly recommend is http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASI ... 71-8500618

This is written by a guy that really does a lot of veneering and is hugely practical. He covers most types of veneering but majors on the iron-on PVA glue method. I can vouch for this as a fairly straightforward way to do things and a big advantage of the method is that it needs no veneer press or clamping with cauls.

 

[Keith Smith]

Thomas,if you have nothing to loose try using an iron on the bubbles, you need just enough heat to activate the glue. It does work especially if the glue has not had too long to harden; but be careful, if you use too much heat the wood shrinks and cracks appear.

Good luck

Keith

 

[Gill]

Hi Thomas

It's heartbreaking when the veneer bubbles up like that. Unfortunately, there's not a lot that you can do to rescue the situation.

If there are just a couple of bubbles, it might be worth cutting into them with a scalpel to release any trapped air. Then apply a block of wood over the bubble and clamp it tightly. With a little careful sanding (and the judicious application of a sawdust and glue mixture :wink you might be able to rescue the work.

One of the problems you might have encountered, though, would be a bubble created as a result of the glue not being evenly laid. If this is the case there's little you can do without cutting out the bubble, removing the glue and infilling with a matching veneer patch. Does that sound complicated? It is. You'll be getting into the arcane arts of furniture restoration.

Perhaps it might be prudent to follow Chris's advice and use glue film for future projects.

Yours

Gill

 

[norman]

Hi thomaskennedy

just a question which contact glue did you use??

regards
Norman

 

[thomaskennedy]

norman,
i used the err... evo stick, timebond!

thanks for all your help, in future it think i will go for PVA or the ready glued stuff!

Cheers

Tom

 

[norman]

Hi thomaskennedy

I have use contact for veneering for some years now and find that the best one is EVo-STICK 528 industrial it but must be Thixotropic.
This lets you correct any faults or even to allow inlays to cut into the surface , lifted and replaced.
you say you used Evo time bond and I see that it has slight thixotropic properties. So I would use a hot air gun as a heat sourse, low heat held some way from the veneer, apply till hand warm only. rub down flat with smooth handle and the venner should grab again.
good luck!!

regards
Norman