How to Sand Veneer. Practice patience when hand sanding small veneered pieces. For most veneer types, we recommend starting with nothing coarser than a 100-grit and slowly working your way up to a 220-grit or finer, depending on the piece and desired outcome. All increases and changes should be gradual.
Be sure to sand with the grain to get a smooth finish. Staining an improperly sanded piece will only ruin your veneer visually and physically. Stay away from belt sanders: Remember that the veneer is thin, so don't over sand it or you will end up going right through it.
Use a Power Sander
Use 60 grit sandpaper and an orbital sander to sand through the veneer and to the wood underneath. Most furniture has two layers of veneer, so if you try the power sander, get ready to be sanding for a long, long time.
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.
Water Based Polyurethane varnish is a good choice for finishing wood veneers. It dries quickly and it gives a lasting, durable, finish that resists stains, abrasion, water marks and some chemicals. The clean up is with water, there are little to no fumes, and you can work in a closed area.
Remember that veneer is really thin. With aggressive sanding, you will sand through the veneer very easily, causing irreversible damage. Always start sanding with fine-grit sandpaper (120-grit).
If the veneer is damaged or has chipped off in some places, but isn't loose and flaky… you can either fill it with wood-putty and sand it smooth, OR you can embrace the character and prime and paint right over it.
Starting with 100 grit sandpaper, sand the entire piece lightly to remove stain and finish – legs, drawers, sides and around trim. The 100 grit will get rid of gunk and finish. If the sandpaper gums up, move to a rougher grit like 80 grit. If you start wearing through the finish and veneer, move back up to 100 or 120.
But if you're using veneered plywood or MDF in your project, odds are the veneer is very thin. Even on this veneer, it still takes quite a bit of effort to sand through when sanding by hand. But machine tools like a random orbital sander can go through fairly quickly.
Not designed to remove materials: Liquid sandpaper may remove some finish material, but it's a minimal amount — only enough to take off the gloss surface. That makes it valuable on thin or delicate materials like wood veneer that can easily be sanded through.
You will still need to sand down the substrate as this will provide a key for the paint to adhere to. Before sanding, ensure the surface is clean and free of any grit or grime. Once it's clean, abrade with 180p or higher sandpaper.
Similarly to laminate furniture, older pieces of furniture often have a delicate top wood veneer. You can paint veneer furniture without sanding with the same steps as solid wood furniture. However, if you have to do any touch up sanding, make sure to use a very fine grit sandpaper so you don't damage the veneer.
Whenever you're painting veneer furniture, it's highly recommended that you sand beforehand. Veneer tends to be on the sleeker side, and sanding adds friction to the surface, which allows the paint to adhere to it better. If you're using oil-based or acrylic paints, sanding is an especially important step.
Repairing and Cleaning the Surface
Before you paint the veneer, you have to fill in any areas where the veneer has been chipped, gouged, or dented. Remove any loose chunks of veneer and sand down the edges around each hole. Fill each hole with wood filler, and then smooth it out with a putty knife.
Mineral spirits can help to remove layers of dirt that build up over the years. For grimy wooden furniture, Murphy's Oil Soap is also an option. Always test before you do the surface of a piece. Once the piece is clean, you can use a small amount of mineral oil to shine it up.
Acrylic, polyurethane and solvent based lacquers are the most widely used. Lacquers made from acrylic polyurethane are best for use on engineered and natural timber veneers. Acrylic polyurethane offers excellent durability and resistance to heat, water and yellowing.
Wood veneer is a thin slice of natural wood that is attached, through gluing or pressing, onto a panel of fibreboard (MDF or HDF), particleboard or plycore. Particleboard is the most common and cost effective, but having a plycore layer in the centre is the best and most durable option.
These back marks are called metallic discoloration, or iron stains, caused by elemental iron reacting with phenolic chemicals in the wood, forming black iron tannates. Iron stains require the presence of iron, water, and wood and will not occur if one of these elements is absent.
Sanding Wood Veneers
Most of our veneers are pre sanded at our factory, so for most of our veneers, no sanding is necessary. If sanding is necessary, it's surprising how much you can sand without sanding through the veneer. Just proceed with some caution.
The advantage of using liquid sandpaper instead of regular sandpaper is that it's easier to apply and safer to use. You just rub liquid sandpaper over the object you wish to paint, wait a set amount of time and wipe off. There is no physical exertion necessary and no messy dust particles to sweep away.