Expert: Eileen Cronk - 5/16/2005

Question
I have a bedroom suit that is very very old.  It has been in my family for years. It needs to be refinished. I have started stripping the dressing table and it has been a nightmare.  It has some kind of an overlay on top that started lifting up from the wood underneath it. I have gotten so fustrated with it I have just quit. I need to know what to use on it and also what is the overlay thats on top of it.Any suggestions you can give me would be greatly appreciated.  

Answer
Hi Melinda
Nice to hear from you.
Without seeing the set I will say the overlay is wood veneer.
That is the only thing that I can think of that would be liftinfg off.
Its good you stopped work on it because the veneer must be glued down before stripping.
That goes for any refinishing job Melinda. The repairs must be made first.
Don't get frustrated. It can be fixed.
First I would try the simple way to get the veneer stuck back down. Do this with a hot iron. First place an old towel over the loose veneer (single layer) and iron it well.
The idea is to soften the old glue so it will re stick the veneer.
It may take a few minutes.
If that fails then you will have to use wood glue and weights to keep it down till the glue dries.
The glue must be forced under every spot underneath the veneer or you will have humps where there is no glue.
I use an old very thin knife to accomplish this.
If you have glue squeeze out after the weights are on, thats OK..the stripper will remove it when it dries.
After that check the other pieces to make sure the veneer is on well.
Veneer is quite lovely when refinished Melinda. This job will take some time, but the results will be worth it.
Please get back to me anytime you need help.
Kindest Regards
Eileen