Thread: Help with bubbles in Veneer

What glue did you use ?
A good way of pressing veneer on to a curve is to use a sand bag,
get some canvas and stitch up a bag the right size ,leave a hole then fill with the right amount of washed sand.
The body section to be veneered could be put in a box, the wall of the box higher by three inches,
then glue , veneer , paper, sand bag, a board and clamps.

I have used sand bags with hide glue, got it hot by boiling first, but cold with other glues will do,
If you are going to do two sheets bookmatched, keeping the join together while pressing is the tricky bit, you could joint it then cover with a strip of cloth put on with hide glue,next day press it ,then take off the strip later, a couple of brads nailed to the body and cliped back close before you put the glue on will stop the veneer sliding around off the mark
cheers Rob

Originally Posted by UZJ40

Hi All, i am finishing an old LesPaul, and putting on a quilted maple veneer, bookmarked .6mm.
This is my first attempt at this so i am doing some practice runs on a couple of bits of mdf and pine. I want to get it right before actually donig the guitar.
One of the bits glued down really well but there are a couple of bubbles near the centre, obviously the veneer didnt come into proper contact when clamped.

Can i, and how do I remove these bubbles?

i am a bit worried as the top of the LP is curved and it will be difficult to get it all clamped on tight.

any sugestions
thanks
Mark

Hey Mark, man you really know how to tackle a hard subject from the hardest end!
That is to say, veneering can be difficult on any project, let alone working over a curved surface.
Auscab is totally correct about the sandbag method, but still it's going to be hard to convince the veneer to press evenly without steaming or soaking before hand.
Just be aware that it can ripple and/or split
When I bookmatch, I generally use 40mm paper tape to keep it matched and joined while glueing down. It works great and can be sanded off if it wont peel off.
I also use urethane glue so it will penetrate the veneer and bind completely.
The one problem with urethane can be if the veneer isnt completely pressed down, it will fill the void and make it almost impossible to fix later.
PVA however, doesnt expand and you can then inject some more glue through the veneer (with a saringe) and repress the dodgey spot.
You can get the saringes from chemists or a local vetanarian,,,, or pinch some from a diabetic friend.
Just dont take their last siringe or you might have a friend in a diabetic coma

I forgot to mention, you might like to try pressing the UN GLUED halves to the body before actually glueing.
The principle is pretty simple. Just damp down the veneer and LIGHTLY press it.
The next day, un clamp it, wet it down again and re-press it.
The idea is to gently guide the grain to a speciffic shape over time, without too much stress. It gives you the chance to see where it needs the most attention, so you can wet down only those areas that you want to press into shape.
When wetting down, dont forget that some areas of the grain need to spread, while other areas may need to compress, so you should wet down a little wider than the exact areas you wish to work on.

I hope that helps

thanks guys, the sand bag method sounds like the way to go. And doing a couple of un glued press's to give the shape is a great idea.

I am still uncertain of which type of glue to use. I have been surfing the net, reading forums, how to videos etc, and there are so many opinions as to which type to use.

The sample ones i tried on the weekend, i used PVA, one bubbled when wet but after 24hrs it layed down nice and flat.
I trail dyed them also to practice my finish, and when i wet the all veneer samples bubbled a lot, but once fully dried the bubbles disappered.
Obviously PVA dosnt react to moisture very well and isnt the type of glue to use.

Is there a type of glue i can get from Bunnings?

Hi Mark,

If they are going up and down with moisture after
the test bit is out of clamps, you could have bubbles
that don't show till wet,

The way I detect them bubbles after veneer has been
pressed or hammered down and the glue is dry, is ,in
a quite room you can hear them,

big ones are easy to see or hear, but the little ones,as
big as a pea, or less, that show up at the end of a polish
job can be heard by flicking your finger left to right lightly
across the top,
you can hear the loose veneer as your finger goes over,
you can get a sound coming from an area somewhere
within the size of a twenty cent piece but have trouble
finding it exactly,I circle that spot with chalk and then tap
around,when you get it dead on you will see it going up
and down by pushing on it with the end of a knife

Gluing veneer as all about getting the right amount of glue
in the first place
best way without a spreader is with a $4 approx brush from the
hardware,the kind with a handle on the back, plastic ,the sort you
would scrub a floor with,stiff bristles, a guitar body isn't much to
be putting glue on but these brushes can give an even coat,I just
put to much on then spread it and keep taking glue off till its right,
you can do both surfaces.


Like AussieOzBorn said to get the shape first, then a few test runs with
scraps to test the type and amount of glue

cheers Rob