Filling a void in quilted veneer. Any suggestions?

[Chris Atzinger]

Hi,

I have some quilted veneer with a small void in it. Unfortunately, due to it's placement, I can't work around it. I am bookmatching the veneers, so whatever I do will show up twice on both panels (that's 4 places to highlight my mistakes!).

Anyone have suggestions on how to fill this hole and make it less noticeable?

Thanks!
Chris

239720

[ian hawthorne]

Hi Chris

I have used the following method in the past with great results - once everything is bookmatched and you have done your final sand and give it 2 coat of finish, once dry using acrylic art paints mix some to get the closest shade and paint the inside of the void - you might have to do this a couple of times to fully conceal it. Now the dark are is covered time to fill the hole with epoxy, I use Z-poxy finishing resin as it sands better. Fill the void and leave over night then sand and your done.

cheers

Ian

[Jim Matthews]

How thick is the veneer?

Skim a similar patch off the back of the bookmatched side.
I doubt you'll get the chattoyance effect to align properly - this is a question to pose a Big Dog, like Bob Flexner (http://news.thefinishingstore.com/?author=12).

[Mel Fulks]

Some people can do that paint patch very well . I think most woodworkers have an easier time with a patch cut from the scrap material. A diamond shape will work well. The quilted grain may even aid concealment. Not unusual for patches to be used in good veneer. My bet is your friends won't notice it until you proudly bring it to their attention.

[Greg Portland]

Would your design allow for a "feature" to be placed there? I'm thinking a small inlay of some sort? You'd need to stack your panels to match the cut out region if you wanted to mirror the feature.

[Richard Coers]

I just read a post on WoodWeb talking about their hatred of trying to match natural maple tone. I would keep the fill dark and celebrate the natural flaw instead of trying to conceal it.

[Mike Henderson]

I've tried filling the hole but have only had modest success. I've had a bit more success with cutting a patch. I cut the patch with an irregular perimeter, then place it over the hole and cut around the perimeter with a knife. The patch will be visible to a close inspection but not to someone standing away from the panel.

Mike

[Mel Fulks]

I have nothing against fillers on painted work or in stained work of informal or rustic nature.Veneered pieces are usually of a more formal style where unconcealed filler would be kind of jarring. I have seen many patches in factory made Art Deco pieces, because I look for them. Most of the patches are not very artful and yet in most cases the owners have never noticed them. A crumb on a white table is instantly seen. The varied figure of the veneer itself sings louder than a patch done well and camouflages it.

[john bateman]

There is actually a tool called a veneer punch for those problems, but it may not be worth the cost to you.

You can make something similar with a piece of copper or thin wall steel plumbing pipe. Squeeze the end of the pipe into an oblong shape, then file the end until it's fairly sharp. Then use it as a punch to remove the defect, and also use it to punch out new filler pieces from some spare veneer.

[John Coloccia]

Welll......if you want to, you can use 4 panels per piece, instead of 2. It would be book matched vertically as well as horizontally. The void side of the veneer ends up at the edges and gets cut away. It's more difficult to describe than to do, but look here and you'll see what I mean. It's a sharp look and easy to do.

http://www.plesums.com/wood/livingroom/endtable.html