Can You Sand Veneer? As you might expect, veneered pieces are very delicate and require careful sanding to avoid irreversible damage. If you sand veneer too much, you may render it unusable.
You may need to sand your veneer when you apply a finish or a wood stain. However, most of our veneers are pre sanded at the factory and you may not need to do any sanding to the raw wood veneer surface. If you sand a veneered surface with a heavy grit and act like a gorilla, you could sand right through the veneer!
Conclusion: Chemical stripping is your better option for a veneered piece. If you have sanded veneer and feel comfortable doing, it can certainly be done, just be patient, start at 100 or 120 rather than a 60 or 80 grit. Don't press hard with the sander, let it do the work. Check your paper for finish build up.
If the veneer is in good condition and isn't chipping… you can sand, prime, and paint like you would any piece of furniture.
That being said, most veneers can sustain a moderate amount of sanding, but there are ways to avoid it. Use a strong chemical stripper so you don't have to sand off finish and bleach the wood to lighten it and remove spots.
Plus, refinishing veneer is easy to sand and a weekend of hard work will result in a stunning dresser, desk, table or chair that you'll cherish for years to come. A note on sanding veneer: Veneer is often made of hardwood species, meaning it has a hardness factor that works in your favor when faced with sanding.
Once you've managed to remove the old finish without sanding through the veneer, you're golden (or whatever stain color you choose :). There are no special rules for staining a veneer and you can use your favorite oil based, water based or gel stain as you would on solid wood.
Veneer is a decorative wood layer that's overlaid on a different surface. Veneer can be primed, painted, stained, and treated just like any other wood surface. Painting veneer surfaces is a great way to spruce up furniture, make older pieces look newer, or make an original piece match a new décor scheme.
A sure way to recognize wood laminate is when the grain does NOT follow through your piece. Wood Veneer is a sheet or thin layer of 'quality-natural-hardwood' that is adhered to a lesser quality wood surface. Wood Veneers give the impression of a more desired quality wood without being as costly.
Painting over wood veneer is just like painting over wood, except the wood layer is very thin, requiring care not to sand all the way through it. Any latex paint you like turns that outdated or ugly dresser into one that suits your tastes.
It's almost always better to strip than to sand. To begin with, except in cases where the old finish is flaking off, it's a lot more work to sand than to strip using a paint-and-varnish remover.
Veneered furniture can be refinished like other wood furniture, as long as the veneer is not too thin, and you take care not to remove too much of the veneer when removing the old finish.
Things You'll Need
The surfaces of these cabinets are real wood, but they generally can't be sanded down for staining, because you risk taking off the veneer and exposing the sub-material. However, veneer surfaces can be re-glossed, which is often enough to brighten them up and provide a new look.
Yes, SAND! Laminate is a slick and non-porous surface so it's best to lightly scuff the surface. I use 150-220 grit sandpaper to sand the laminate because it's the BEST way to get the primer and paint to adhere properly.
If the underside of the furniture you are inspecting has a grain that looks completely different than the top, then it's a veneer. Top and bottom veneer pieces are made from two different pieces of wood, meaning they won't match.
They're still very durable.
Just because veneer furniture isn't completely made up of solid wood, doesn't mean it's not durable. Because veneer furniture is not prone to the same aging effects as solid wood, such as splitting or warping, wood veneer furniture will often outlast solid wood furniture by years.
Use a palm sander with 220 grit sandpaper and sand the top in the direction of the grain. You don't need to sand too much, just enough to add some “tooth” for the paint to stick to. After sanding, clean the surface again with a soft clean cloth. If the base of your table is in poor condition, go ahead and sand it too.
With a thin putty knife, I apply a generous amount of wood filler to the damaged area. I wait between 30 minutes and 2 hours before sanding the filled spots with a rough sandpaper (60-80 grit). You can also use an electrical sander for this step. Next I use a finer grit (220) to smooth out the area.
You can even whitewash faux wood, if you do the proper amount of preparation. Whitewashing faux wood is simple, whether you are lightening an entire room or one small piece of furniture.
You can refinish veneer almost the same as you would refinish a piece of solid wood, as long as you take precautions to avoid damaging the thin veneer. Set up your tabletop refinishing project in an area with good ventilation, as the compounds used in the process may contain harmful vapors.