Best finish for veneer

[Dengue]

Hello, I am going to have a go at veneering, and would like some pointers please. Can anyone please advise on some good reference work or links to expert advice?

0.6mm veneer
My first go will be some 0.6mm thick huon pine veneer with a bit of birdseye in it. The substrate will be 6mm MDF.

Can anyone please advise on the best glue to use for this? I understand that both sides have to be done at the same time, and that the glue has to be nice and thin and evenly spread.

Finally, what is the best finish for this? I have used Wattyl Scandanavian Teak Oil and Kunos #244 oil on timber boxes, but these rely on some absorption and reaction with fibres in the grain. I doubt if that would happen with 0.6 veneer, but would like some good advice on this please.

2mm veneer
The other option is to make my own veneer about 2 - 3 mm thick and glue it both sides to an MDF substrate. Would I have to allow for expansion in the box using this as a lid?

Similar to above, what would be the best sort of finish to use on these? Would oil be effective?

I would appreciate any ideas and suggestions, and will provide feedback. Rest assured, on the basis of my recent efforts, there will be lots of mistakes to learn from :)

[Arron]

If its going into a press then Pva will be fine. You are right that both sides have to be done, but your comment about a 'thin' coat worries me a bit. I use a notched scraper with 1mm notches every 4mm, which puts the glue on just right for pva/press type work.

If its important to you that it be removable at a later stage (ie restorations) then hide glue is the go. There is a bit of a learning curve with 'hammer veneering' and hide glue though, so your first one or two goes may not be brilliant.

Cant really comment on finishig till we know what look you are going for.

Cheers
Arron

[Dengue]

Thanks for this comment, Arron. I normally get a nice silky smooth semi-gloss finish on my boxes, and would like to match the veneered lid to the finish on the sides

[Hermit]

Dengy, this isn't directly related to finishing veneer, but I thought it might be useful anyway. Lots of good stuff on preparing/applying veneer:
http://www.uniquelyveneer.com.au/downloads/prep-apply-veeneers-inlays.pdf

[Dengue]

Thanks kindly for this info, Hermit. As per another thread here, I am having trouble getting good information on veneering in general -it looks like this link contains a lot of useful information and excellent background reading about veneer.

[Hermit]

Thanks kindly for this info, Hermit -it looks like it contains a lot of useful information and excellent background reading about veneer

No worries. It was more suited to your other veneer thread actually, but I didn't see that one until I'd already posted.