Advice on a wood veneer repair

[glenn branca]

Hello,

My wife and I just purchased a mahogany veneered wardrobe. It is quite old and unfortunately some of the original veneer has chipped off and or is in serious disrepair. I have attached a few photos. I am not familiar with veneer work but I am pretty handy. I need some guidance on the direction to take in restoring the damaged areas.
My goal is to repair the areas of damage and make it as presentable as possible.
Do I need to replace the whole veneer in the damaged sections?
How do I match the damaged veneer with new?
What type of veneer and glue to use?
Can I perform the repair without the use of a vacuum press?
Are there any good books/DVD you can suggest on wood veneer repair/finishing?

I need some solid advice with this and greatly appreciate your help.


Best Regards

Glenn Branca

[David Nelson1]

Hi Glenn,
If you know how to resize your pictures, it would help quite a bit. I have no useful info, but I'm sure someone here will. Welcome to Creek.

[glenn branca]

Sorry about that. I will resubmit with a new thread and properly sized photos.

Thanks

[Chris Padilla]

Just add to this thread, Glenn. No need to start a new one.

[Shawn Pixley]

From the pictures you show, my initial thoughts are that there two different approaches to take. For the door, I would try to repair the veneer. You need to find or make veneer of the same species/cut and the same thickness for the missing areas, the bubbled areas can be reglued. For the base due to the extent of the damage, my first thoughtis to remove the existing damge and completly replace the veneer there. I've glued lots of veneer without a vacuum system. And that was originally laid up without vacuum so of course it can be repaired the same way.

[glenn branca]

Hello shawn,

Thanks for the reply. I believe the veneer is a flitch of mahogany (no backing). I think I can find something that is close in match. What glue should i use?

Glenn

[Chris Padilla]

For veneering, you want a glue that dries hard...not flexible like the PVAs (standard yellow/white glues). I'd suggest using plastic resin glue--dries hard as a rock and has a long open time. veneersupplies.com also has some glues that I've used that work very well and dry hard.

[Shawn Pixley]

Sorry, I meant to emphasize this earlier. Modern veneers are thinner than the original veneers. Carefully measure the thickness and plan accordingly. This can be one of the more frustrating aspects of this sort of repair.