So I bought this desk off of craigslist for a smokin’ deal. I may or may not have driven into a snowy wilderness to get it but hey, gotta do whatchya gotta do right?! It’s a gorgeous piece!
(Please excuse the poor iPhone photo)
The downside… there was some lifting and cracking veneer on top but the rest of the desk is solid wood with gorgeous ornate carving and dovetail drawers. I knew it needed to come off but I have never removed so much veneer before so, honestly, I was a little nervous.
After a little research, I learned that veneer lifts and cracks from moisture. Duh! It may have been spilled on, stored outside or in a musty basement or something to cause the veneer to lift in the first place. Well, if moisture ‘lifts” the veneer, let’s get it really moist and lift it ALL off! That’s what I did.
Get a water saturated (but not dripping wet) towel to cover your surface and drape it over top of the veneer you want to remove. The water/moisture seeps through the veneer and dissolves the water based adhesive that most veneer is originally applied with.
Then, get on pinterest, watch a movie, do some laundry or something for about 2-3 hours. If you live in a really dry area, you may want to resaturate your towel every hour or so.
When I looked under the towel to peek at the progress, I could see it was lifting so easily and I was super excited.
After a couple hours, take a firm putty knife and scrape off the veneer. If you did it correctly, it should lift off fairly easy! The entire desk took me about 40 minutes or so to scrape.
Pretty huh? haha! If you did it correctly, it should lift off fairly easy! The entire desk took me about 40 minutes or so to scrape.
**IF YOUR VENEER IS BEING STUBBORN** I had one tiny spot that was super stubborn and would not come off so I put my damp towel back over it, used my iron on the cotton setting and ironed over the stubborn spot for about 30-45 seconds. When it cooled just a bit, I scraped and it came off perfectly! The steam totally dissolved the glue. Seriously amazing people!
I have already refinished this desk and a chair to go with it so I’ll show you that really soon… as soon as I get some sunlight to take some decent photos! *winks*
Can’t wait to see the finished desk and the chair!!
Hey look at that! I passed up a table at the thrift store a few weeks ago for fear of the veneer on it. Thanks for the tip!
That is really awesome!!! I can’t wait to see it all finished! Go Mal!
~Jen
That is so clever! I never would have thought to do that. I can’t wait to see the makeover!!
What! I’m trying that next time! I use my heat gun to reheat the glue and then scrape it, but this sounds even easier.. Thanks!
thank you! I just bought the most beautiful vanity for next to nothing because of the terrible state of the top veneer. You just saved me countless hours of worry and work
You just took the scary out of removing veneer. I will be looking at old furniture with a whole new interest now!
I am currently working on a desk just like this for my mom. Perfect timing.
I can’t wait to see this finished – what a gorgeous piece of furniture!!!
Isn’t such kind of water saturation process impaired the internal layer of the table..?
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Yeah Aldis, it can be if not dried properly in the sun light.
Leather Sofa
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