Removing Veneer

[FoghornX]

I've got the usual 1950s/60s Danish style Teak extendable dining table. The veneer top is water stained and is rather artificial and unattractive looking. I was wondering whether it'd be possible to remove the veneer and sand and oil for a more natural finish like this


or darker like here:


thanks

[billym]

gday fogh you can generally remove ven with a heat gun which will melt the glue and scrape off.But first have a look under the table and see what the timber is like under the ven, You may if is worst then the ven as they often use second grade timber . Might be better to grain fill and lightly sand and re stain then oil. hope this is some help.

[echnidna]

underneath the veneer is probably chipboard or mdf.

You could consider applying a new veneer over the top of the old one
its a prawn of a job as a first time veneering project though.

[Hickory]

You might try rubbing out the finish and renewing the appearance.

A while back my sister loaned her Dining room table to her D-I-L (Long story) anyway she got it back with a terrible water stain and heat ruined finish. It was bookmatched Veneer in an aray of patterns (beautiful Ash Burl veneer) she asked me to help her "Re-finish" the table. She wanted to strip and remove and start from scratch, ECCH!!! Major job.

I suggested we first try to rub it out. Drove to a WWing store and got some Rottenstone, then to the Pharmacy and got some Mineral oil. A load of Terry cloth rags and lots of papers on the floor.

I began with a puddle of oil and sprinkled on the rottenstone and with an oil soaked towel pad, I began rubbing and caressing the table, hard circular motions on the water stain, Then the wrinkled finish area. After several minute I wiped clean the area with a fresh towel and you could once again see the shine on the table, looked so good that it showed the scratches on the rest of the table so I had to finish rubbing out the whole dining room set.

I was rewarded with a smile and a much needed Manhattan (with two cherries) Of course the next day my shoulders and elbows reminded me of the previous exercise.

But, your table may not need the veneer removed or new applied, it may need som TLC and a good back rub. You would be surprized what a little elbow grease can provide. At the worse you practice some Cardiovascular exercise if the results are not as expected.

If it is in really bad shape, you can begin with Pumicestone and oil and then progress to Rottenstone & oil.

[jerryc]

Foggy,

No way would I suggest trying to remove veneer.

The table surface is repairable, though it is difficult to assess the type of damage without some photos. If we see these some of us will have a better idea of the damage.

Just to show you repair can be done I attach some photos of a job I'm working on. This is teak veneer on chipboard circa 1959. An earthenware plant pot containing water was placed on it and I was faced with swollen chipboard and a blackened teak.
Water stain can often be bleached out by applying dilute oxalic acid in a warm solution. Oxalic acid is a useful bleach when used on wood and in this case blended and removed the stains. Heat from a domestic iron reduced the swollen chipboard. You can see from the photos that all that is now required is to blend the slightly lighter areas inn the original colour which is quite a simple job

Why I suggest posting photos is because units vary in quality of veneer and production methods. The unit I was working on was a high quality veneer.

Jerry

War does not decide who is right. War only decides who is left.

[Robert22]

I also have a mid century Danish Table with water damage that needs restoring. I would like to know it its best to replace vanner to re-finish.

[China]

I would go the refinish rout, quite commonly the veneer is glued with pva and heat will not free it, and as said above almost 100% it will be a particle board base