Thread: What the mail about Iron on veneers?

My only attempt ended in failure

I used iron on for a set of laundry cupboards, about 15 years ago. Still going strong, and still look okay.

It seems to depend on the timber veneer, some woods have better insulating properties than others and the heats transfer to the glue is often poor. Or maybe the glue batches vary and you takes your chances

I used some of the maple and it worked OK but had a battle with some Jarrah. I think next time I would get veneer without glue if possible if not I would clean off the glue and use a conventional glue.

Thx fellas

Muchly appreciated................Has anyone out there ever tried to romove the iron on glue & use an epoxy or plastic resin style glue instead????

Ideas on removing the iron on glue would be a great help

Regards Lou

Hi Lou, yeah I recently tried some of the narrow iron on veneer strip stuff and ended up stripping it off and going for the real thing.
Apparently the glue on that stuff is melamine, but nowhere near as good as using the real deal in Selleys 308 Melamine/formaldehyde. Expensive but dynamite and a pack will go a long way.

I ended up getting some sheets of veneer from a local timber yard, wet it, placed it on a smooth surface and using some weighted laminated chipboard on top to flatten it out nicely. Then mixed up some 308 and brushed it on the surface I was applying the new veneer to and clamped it all up protecting the surface with some MDF pieces and G-clamps.

Newlou,
Removing the 'iron on glue' is difficult, probably best to use a hit gun and scrape. Iron on stuff is good for small jobs. Ironing a 300 by 600 (or more) leaf is difficult as uneven shrinkage sets in, particularly when butting up two long veneer pieces. In the past, when I stuffed up a piece, I usually removed it and tried again with a new piece.
Zelk

Lou, I also suspect that the age of the Bunnies' stock has a lot to do with the success rate... or lack thereof. I'm pretty sure that some colours of the iron-on veneers have been sitting on our locals shelves for quite a few years, while others have a regular turnover.

I used small contrasting sections as the inlay for a jewellery box (marquetry's not my thing, but I can fake it. ) and it turned out nicely. About 2 years later, I attempted to make another using the leftover scraps from the first and it fell to pieces withing 6 months. AFAICT, I didn't do anything differently, 'twas to be a matching pair to the first so I used the same sub-timbers and finish.

The scraps had been stored properly, (well... I think so) hence my conclusion it's just age of the glue.

Originally Posted by Skew ChiDAMN!!

Lou, I also suspect that the age of the Bunnies' stock has a lot to do with the success rate... or lack thereof. I'm pretty sure that some colours of the iron-on veneers have been sitting on our locals shelves for quite a few years, while others have a regular turnover.

I used small contrasting sections as the inlay for a jewellery box (marquetry's not my thing, but I can fake it. ) and it turned out nicely. About 2 years later, I attempted to make another using the leftover scraps from the first and it fell to pieces withing 6 months. AFAICT, I didn't do anything differently, 'twas to be a matching pair to the first so I used the same sub-timbers and finish.

The scraps had been stored properly, (well... I think so) hence my conclusion it's just age of the glue.

Good point.

The only contact i've had with them was at a Triton club meeting a while back. Seemed to work well. DPB did the demo and has used both the iron on and the glue on method with a vac bag. I don't think he's had problems with the iron on type.

Of course you can make your own iron on by applying a good quality PVA, cross linked PVA or hide glue, letting it dry on both surfaces then iron on, that way you know it is fresh.
As for joining long pieces of veneer, that is why we use veneer tape, sticks like s### to a blanket.
Available as a solid or perforated, I like perforated so you get a better contact area on the veneer.