Thread: Repairing hole in veneer

Hi Dengue, the best wood filler in my opinion is Builders bog turbo, used in conjunction with cement colouring oxides to obtain almost any colour.

In your case I simply would not use those pieces of veneer for the intended purposes as it will never be 100% invisible in my opinion,The best solution is try to incorporate a small decorative inlay to get rid of it or select some other veneer for the top of your box.

The little blighter - couldn't even see the hole in the first pic! I've had good results repairing this type of problem using an appropriate size spiral upcut bit in the router and a matching hole punch. Match up your bit and hole punch first; plunge straight through the veneer (clamping the router base to the veneer and a base board works best); punch your repair piece from a matching piece of veneer (preferably slightly thicker, but if not available you can just use the bottom side up); glue in and sand or plane back. If you do it well it should be unnoticeable. Have a practice run on some scrap first.
Will be interested to see what other replies you get and what you end up doing. I'm always looking for an easier way to do everything.

Cheers,
David

Hi Dengy

Most certainly don't use timber mate, epoxy or any other filler

definitely repair before gluing to the substrate. However, matching the grain to get an invisible repair will I think be very difficult

1st alternative is to vary your design to incorporate a decorative highlight - mother of pearl, Paua shell, perhaps the recipient's birth stone -- but only if you can get the placement right

2nd alternative is to run a contrasting "swish" or series of lines across the top one of which passes through the defect.

If you go one of the alternate routes the repair can be done after the veneer is glued down but before final sanding

Many thanks for this ian, you have given me some really good suggestions. I am really inclined to the a decorative highlight - small square mother of pearl solution. Should look good against a deep reddish brown box. Alternatively, I could put a rectangular Qld Silver Ash inlay around the top , going through the imperfection.

I will now go ahead and glue it to the substrate and see where the hole ends up on the final lid panel cut to size before deciding on a final solution

Hi Dengy. The right way to repair this situation is to throw that piece away and cut another - though I guess you know that so I'll treat this more as a question about how to make a repair in something that must withstand very close scrutiny.

I usually do it with Timbermate and watercolours - ordinary artists watercolours. I apply the timbermate - a bit paler then the substrate - then bring it up to its finished colour using a sealer or an oil of some sort. Then I use a colour wheel, magnifiying glass and washes of watercolour to match the background, and finally paint on the grain pattern using a very fine brush (just a few hairs).

I think you need watercolours for this rather then oils because with watercolours you build up the final colour with a series of washes, allowing you to fine tune the colour as you go. Watercolour is kind of translucent - while acrylics and oils are opaque and not very convincing looking. Finally, watercolour has much the same refractive index as timber (not sure I've got the right term there, I just mean it looks like natural timber once applied, acrylics and oils don't).

Reasonable experience with watercolours and colour mixing are a bit of a pre-requisite I guess. Also, make sure its compatible with the final finish.

cheers
Arron

Hi Dengue
Just forget about the piece of veneer, using a decorative inlay is the only acceptable soloution to use it for the top of a box.

You could inlay a band of stringing all around the lid at the point of the defect and so eliminate the problem.

Any kind of repair is going to unacceptable and any repair and touch up which may be invisible initially will probably not be so in a few years once it has been exposed to light.

It is a pretty unremarkable piece of veneer aswell and you should look for something else.

I also wouldnt recommend veneering on plywood.Mdf is always a better carcase material.

Originally Posted by Arron

Hi Dengy. The right way to repair this situation is to throw that piece away and cut another - though I guess you know that so I'll treat this more as a question about how to make a repair in something that must withstand very close scrutiny.

I usually do it with Timbermate and watercolours - ordinary artists watercolours. I apply the timbermate - a bit paler then the substrate - then bring it up to its finished colour using a sealer or an oil of some sort. Then I use a colour wheel, magnifiying glass and washes of watercolour to match the background, and finally paint on the grain pattern using a very fine brush (just a few hairs).

I think you need watercolours for this rather then oils because with watercolours you build up the final colour with a series of washes, allowing you to fine tune the colour as you go. Watercolour is kind of translucent - while acrylics and oils are opaque and not very convincing looking. Finally, watercolour has much the same refractive index as timber (not sure I've got the right term there, I just mean it looks like natural timber once applied, acrylics and oils don't).

Reasonable experience with watercolours and colour mixing are a bit of a pre-requisite I guess. Also, make sure its compatible with the final finish.

cheers
Arron

Originally Posted by mark david

Hi Dengue
Just forget about the piece of veneer, using a decorative inlay is the only acceptable soloution to use it for the top of a box.

You could inlay a band of stringing all around the lid at the point of the defect and so eliminate the problem.

Any kind of repair is going to unacceptable and any repair and touch up which may be invisible initially will probably not be so in a few years once it has been exposed to light.

It is a pretty unremarkable piece of veneer aswell and you should look for something else.

I also wouldnt recommend veneering on plywood.Mdf is always a better carcase material.

Yeah, sorry, I meant to add that I would only do this if the repair was small and the need was desperate - like if you had a tiny fault appear in a finished object and didnt want to junk the whole thing. Never start out with a piece you know you will need to repair.

Cheers
Arro