Veneering metal door

[georgiano]

Hello everyone.

I am going to apply veneer over metal door.
I did lots of research on the web (I'm DIY enthusiast not the wood professional) and read lots of articles about veneering, but almost all of them failed to talk about metals as surface.

The door cannot be removed so vacuum press is no option.
I have already sanded and removed all the paint from the surface that will be veneered. I am going to apply veneer horizontally (I think it will be easier for me to apply 70cm x 25cm sheets than 210cmx25cm). I will be applying sheets on the door one by one. and I've chosen to use contact cement as adhesive.

has anybody done such a thing? any advice/correction will be huge help for me.

P.S. is this right place to post this topic?

[Riley]

We use a 2 part glue for joining Stainless Steel components together with success. It may be expensive but it will work on timber also. We get it from Meredeth Distributions but that is not much help for you in the US :) but a google search will help.
Contact adhesive will work but be careful, they are not all the same, some take temperature ranges better than others and some take moisture better than others.
I would be inclined to run the veneer vertically for aesthetic reasons .You will also have less joints.Apply oversize and trim with a plane etc after setting.

The greatest risk to de-lamination will be poor surface preparation.Sand metal first to increase surface area and give a key for glue.Then clean, the cleaner the better ,finishing with a non residual leaving solvent ie metho (not turps!) or an acetone . Apply glue to both surfaces soon after solvent has dried.I repeat the metal cannot be too clean.

Good Luck

Brett

[georgiano]

thank you for your reply.

the only reason why I'm going to glue veneer horizontally and not vertically is that I'm afraid to screw things up :). horizontal seems more simple
other than small test tries, have no experience with veneer at all :)

[lpg_falcon]

I have successfully veneered Stainless steel sheet onto Melamine.
I used contact adhesive.
Did a 1200*900mm in one go.
This was to create a slide out benchtop.
Works OK.
I think the important things are.
Preparation.
Clean with solvent.
Use contact adhesive on both pieces.
Wait for contact to go off to the right amount.
Use dowelling or clean timber scraps for keeping the two surfaces apart.
Do NOT start at both ends at the same time when removing the dowelling.

You shouldn't need vacuum clamping or anything like that.
Gravity for first stick then press hard with rubber block.
You may want a cloth between rubber block and you veneer to reduce marking.

Best of luck.

lpg_falcon.