Is there any fix when you stupidly sand through the veneer on plywood

[Jay Jolliffe]

Well some days I wonder why I go into my shop. I know some days are better than others. It was all going to good up until today. I'm building a bookcase out of vg fir plywood & vg fir lumber. I stupidly sanded through the veneer in a small spot about 2" long & 1" wide. So I have a spot at eye level that's a little darker than the rest. Anyone know of a fix for his. This bookcase is 5' wide & 7' tall. I have about 1,200.00 worth of wood into it so I cant start over.

[Kent A Bathurst]

Sorry - I don't know the answer.

But - whatever the answer is, you can bet I'm keeping it on file.

[george wilson]

You could paint the part you sanded through,and its mating parts,but leave other parts stained. For example: A book case with satin black sides,but cherry stained shelves.

They make veneer so thin these days,it is ridiculous.

[John Coloccia]

Post a picture. There's always a clever solution somewhere :)

[Mike Henderson]

This takes some talent but I've seen people "paint" a knot where they sanded through.

Mike

[Victor Robinson]

I've not done this but would it be possible to rout out a larger area say 1/8" deep and do an inlay patch?

[Larry Browning]

There's about a 90% chance you will be the only one that notices the mistake unless you point it out. And 90% those that do notice will be too polite to say anything. The others you can just respond that in every piece you make, you always build in an intentional minor flaw (or 2) as your signature and that these little imperfections give it a character and uniqueness that cannot be duplicated.

That what I do anyway!

[Jim Holman]

Insert a "Dutchman" a piece of veneer selected to match the sand thru. Use a gouge ground flat on the end to outline an eliptical hole; carefully remove the waste, and use the same gouge to cut the matching veneer patch. Glue it in and sand flush.

[Peter Quinn]

More specific info about the construction details and location of the sand through would help to devise an appropriate solution. If the book case has a face frame if may be possible to veneer the section between two shelves which includes the patch. It might be possible to use a router and take the isolated area down by .020" or so and veneer a section between dados or shelf locations assuming your solid stock is wide enough and a close enough match to your sheet stock. You might also buy just a sheet of fir veneer to cover tthe entire side in question. It could be applied pre assembly in a variety of ways or post assembly with clamps or an iron on technique using PVA glue. These are my first round approaches. When routing in a patch, go big, and go wide.

[curtis rosche]

you could add a trim or detail peice?

[Stephen Cherry]

Of course a picture would help, but it may be possible to cover it up. You would need a bunch of dyes and pigments, and some zinsser sealcoat (dewaxed shelac). The idea would be to match two collors of the wood, the lightest color with pigment in the shelac and the darkest color with dye in shelac. Basically, you work in the pigment to color the sanded through area, and a little bit around it. Then you have an area that is all one color, which is the lightest color of the wood. Then you would paint the grain on with the shelac- dye mix using an artists brush, or a twisted piece of cloth, etc. This would then be blended a little with detnatured alcohol on a cloth or paper towel.

First step last-- you would start all of this with a few coats of the sealcoat. That way, if you don't like what you have done, you can take it off with denatured alcohol.

Shelac is your friend in all of this- super easy to put on, dries very fast, and removable. You may want to practice a little on scrap first, and learn a little about colors (color wheel), including blending dyes and pigments. Also, The difference, generally, between dyes and pigments is that pigments work like paint- they color the surface, while dyes work like sunglasses- they add a see through coating.

[Paul McGaha]

Try not to feel too bad Jay. I've done it too and probably a lot of us have.

As George says it is so thin.

PHM

[John Coloccia]

For the record, my very first instinct knowing nothing else about it and not seeing how bad it is, would be to just leave it alone and finish it. If you're going to attempt any fix other than covering it up with trim, the right way to do it is to make several test pieces and perfect the technique first. That includes going all the way through the finish schedule because things that look good with no finish often look horrible with finish. Very few people will do that and they will use the final product for practice....with predictable results.

[Brett Robson]

I can't remember where I saw the article, but I recall reading about different methods for fixing problems such as that.

One of the suggested fixes was to use various colored pencils to gently shade the sanded spot to make it blend with the surrounding material.

[ian maybury]

HI Jay. It'd be better to see it, but if it's in a flat area (an edge might complicate matters, but may well be repairable too) I'm pretty sure you could patch the sand through if you can get some veneer that matches pretty well. I did similar jobs years ago repairing wooden kayaks. A glue that sands well is advisable, for example one of the older type non rubbery 'yellow' aliphatic resin glues.

Make sure that the depression to be filled is no deeper than the thickness of the new piece of veneer, and that the veneer is thin as it'll otherwise be very tough to press down properly.

The other critical is the method of holding it down - it's got to be fully down all over. Regardless of the fact that it'll be going into a shallow depression. Vacuum bagging would probably be ideal, but failing that possibility a clamped pad faced with an inch or so of a pretty firm but elastic foam that deforms a bit, but applies and maintains real pressure while the glue is drying.

The final essential is refinishing - the veneer around the area may be thin, so care will be needed, as will a rigid sanding block with the abrasive glued to it so it cuts flat. You can mask the outer edges of the sanding pad with tape to reduce the risk of it sanding into the original veneer.

After that it's a case of going carefully until the new piece of veneer is cut back flush with the original surface - once back flat there should be an only just visible joint line around the perimeter of the repaired area.

ian

[Tony Zaffuto]

Been there, done that on a pair of end tables I was building. Sanded through the veneer on one of the tables. While thinking about how to fix it, I started on the second table and I'll be damned if I didn't sand through it also. Finished both of them and I'm basically to only one who notices the flaws. They are also great reminders for future work (as well as humbling).

[Joe Angrisani]

If you go the inlay patch route, cut the veneer layer off a piece of matching scrap. A quick on-edge pass through the table saw should give you a 3"+ wide by however-long piece of veneer that's a dead match.

[Mike Cruz]

Soooo, many cleaver/stupid answers I could give you. None of which would really help. The only thing I can suggest would be time consuming, but might work... Do an inlay of some other type of wood...make it a contrast. BUT you have to one way or another repeat it to make it look like a pattern, or at least like it was supposed to be there. So, at least one more like it symetrically located. Or, a bunch of them evenly spaced. Or you could route out a strip the entire length of the project and inlay a contrasting wood as a stripe. Or a piece of moulding/trim on top of the violating area.

See, I can be constructive...not just a smart butt.

[Van Huskey]

I am quite interested in this topic. I see screw ups as an opportunity to get creative and learn something, though if you told me that when I first discover it I would probably punch you! I am going to guess the piece is already glued up otherwise replacing the panel makes the most sense.

It seems to be the consensus that most of us want to see a picture of the area and overall section. My first approach would be to plan to faux the grain in the finish process as patching the veneer can be more difficult sometimes. It also makes a difference what finish you are planning, the hardest will be if you are planning a clear finish, the easiest is if you are going significantly darker than the natural color of the wood.

Also as mentioned before you are most likely the only one that will ever notice this when it is over!

[Mike Cruz]

Unless he has a brother like I do...:rolleyes: My brother would scour the project to find a flaw, then point it out (in jest of course) every time he walked in the house. Reminds me of the artist that finished his project, then hammered a nail half into it, and bent it over. Whenever anyone asked what that was for, he simply mentioned "There had to be a flaw somehwere..."

[Leo Graywacz]

It takes skill but a pro touch up guy could probably make that look like it never happened. The second option is to try to put in a dutchman, but you will likely see witness lines where it is cut in. The other option is to





Paint it.

Ugh.

[Dennis Puskar]

What is vg fir plywood & vg fir lumber ?

[Van Huskey]

Unless he has a brother like I do...:rolleyes: My brother would scour the project to find a flaw, then point it out (in jest of course) every time he walked in the house. Reminds me of the artist that finished his project, then hammered a nail half into it, and bent it over. Whenever anyone asked what that was for, he simply mentioned "There had to be a flaw somehwere..."

The second part reminds me of a story I was told, dunno if true, about native Americans, when they finished their elaborate beadwork they would break one bead, if they didn't they thought the gods might take their attempt at "perfection" as an affront. Thus far I have never had to worry about having to "break a bead" on purpose, my only offense the woodworking gods would be angered by it the utter lack of perfection!

[Van Huskey]

What is vg fir plywood & vg fir lumber ?

Vertical grain

[Jerome Hanby]

I have no artistic talent at all, so my first thought would be a Dutchman...or hide it against the wall <g>

[Jay Jolliffe]

Thanks for all the input. I guess I should of been more descriptive of where the damage was. The book case has a face frame & it's on the side of the case next to the face frame. Unfortunately it's on the side that will be showing as the other is into the corner. I have to try to blend it in some how. I can't stain or paint as the people want it natural & an extra trim design won't work unless someone has an ingenuous idea....

[Mike Cruz]

Jay, many have said it already, but a picture or two or three would be invaluable in helping you figure this out...

[Prashun Patel]

Post a picture. I would be honest with the client and explore the options with him.

Is it possible to hide the defect by adding a batten or molding?

Can you swap the sides so the damaged area is against the wall?

Can you just swap out that panel? You don't have to start over; just replace the one panel.

In the end, if it's impossible to replace, then you might to best to explore darker color options with the customer. These might allow you flexibility to fix the defect with a glaze.

[Jay Jolliffe]

It looks worse that in the pic....215673

[Mike Cruz]

Thanks for the pic Jay. Could I bother you to take another one? Of the whole unit? Maybe anther one of the side only, too. That way we could get an idea of what the whole thing looks like to give you suggestions on trim/moulding...if at all possible. Thanks.

BTW, you aren't the first to do it. We pretty much all have at some point or another. It can likely be saved....

[Howard Acheson]

This is the way a professional finisher would deal with the problem: www.hardwoodlumberandmore.com/Hardwood/TipSheets/VeneerRepair.html

It's a little after the fact but with today's thin veneered ply wood a power sander should never be used. As the manufacturer has already sanded to about 180 grit the best approach is to hand sand with 180 grit paper backed by a rubber or felt covered sanding block. Even here, sand very lightly. Get you first coat of finish applied and then sand with 320 grit to flatten and smooth. This way you are sanding the finish, not the veneer.

[johnny means]

Jay, what is the solid wood details we're looking at? Could this detail be expanded to hide the blemished area?

My first thought would be to route a groove all the way down that side and fill it with a strip from the original material. You could rip the face off of a strip of the plywood and use that as the patch. I would actually set she strip into a bed of epoxy so I could flush it up by clamping it with a caul. A carefully done patch would be nearly invisible.

My second choice would be to veneer the entire side. I would then cut a small groove along the face frame joint to mimic the actaul joint.

[Gregory King]

Jay, pull some of Norm Abram's old tapes out. You did make copies of his shows, right. Regardless, it is not difficult to do. With a router and a few collars to screw on to the base and a scrap of thin ply approx.1/4 ", you can make a bow tie pattern or an oval one from a scrap of the same material. Once you have the patch to the right size you can use this same system on any kind of wood. With a little glue and light sanding, it is virtually hard to see.

[Jay Jolliffe]

Thanks Howie....Your web site doesn't go any where. It says url not found.