How To Repair/Restore Water Damaged Wood Veneer Furniture?
Wood Veneer is a thin slice of wood or even a bark that is usually thinner than 3 mm or 1/8 inch. The wood veneer is glued to the top of the wooden surface in order to provide the wooden surface a shiny & attractive look. Apart from that, the wood veneer is very much vulnerable to get damaged by water. In order to repair wood veneer that is damaged by the water, the user needs to follow the below-given procedure:
Identification:
Before starting a repair process, it is necessary for the user to know about the damage type. In case, the specific area of wood veneer furniture has white spots, the reason behind it will be splashed water. In case, the whole surface is 'blushed' with a white haze, there could be two reasons either the furniture was sealed while there was water present on its surface or the furniture surface was prepared by washing with water rather than a tack cloth. Blushing is a common factor that affects older wood veneer furniture pieces. In case, the wood veneer furniture has black spots, it means that the water has damaged the protective layer along with veneer and has stained the area.
Repairing White Spots
In order to repair white spots, the user needs to follow the below given steps:
- Buff The Surface Using Furniture Polish:
First, the user needs to buff the wood veneer surface using liquid furniture polish as it can sometimes remove the white spots. - Use Denatured Alcohol:
In case, the first step doesn't remove the white spots, the user needs to follow it up by using a clean rag dipped in denatured alcohol and rubbing the white spots with it. The user needs to be careful while using alcohol as it can damage the wood veneer finish. - Apply Paste Containing Cigarette Ashes & Linseed Oil: If the alcohol doesn't remove the white spots, the user needs to prepare a paste by mixing cigarette ashes and linseed oil or any vegetable or mineral oil. The paste needs to be rubbed in the direction of the grain with hand finger and then wipe out the paste using a clean rag.
- Stubborn Spots:
For stubborn spots, the user needs to prepare a mixture containing rottenstone and linseed oil. The mixture needs to be rubbed on to the spot in the direction of the grain. As soon as the spot is gone, the user can wipe the mixture out using a clean rag. - Hard Wax & Polish The Surface:
After the white spots are gone, the user needs to wax the entire surface twice before polishing the entire surface.
Repairing Blushing
The steps to repair blushing are given below:
- Buff The Surface With Steel Wool:
As blushing is quite similar to white spots, first, the user needs to buff the entire surface using steel wool dipped in linseed oil. The user needs to follow the direction of the grain while buffing and once completed, clean the surface using a rag. - Apply Two Coats Of Hard Furniture Wax:
After that, the user needs to apply two coats of hard furniture wax and buff the wood veneer shine with it. - Try Re-amalgamation:
In case, the wood veneer finish is still blushed, the user needs to try re-amalgamation of the finish for which he needs to test the finish on an inconspicuous area in order to determine the nature of the finish. If the finish is dissolved by denatured alcohol, then it is shellac finish and if the finish dissolves the denatured alcohol, then the finish is lacquer. In order to re-amalgamate the finish, it has been recommended to use the appropriate product that will dissolve the finish. The user needs to either use steel wool or natural bristle brush and dip it into the appropriate solution and rub the blushed area gently till the blush is entirely off from the wood veneer. - Feather The Repaired Edges:
The next step will be to feather the repaired edges using natural bristle brush by applying long and light strokes towards the direction of the grain. Allow the surface to dry for 24 hours. - Applying Two Coats Of Paste Wax:
The last step in the process will be to apply two coats of paste wax on to the wood veneer surface and buff the surface using a clean rag.
Repairing Black Spots:
Black spots mean that the wood veneer beneath the finish is damaged so there is no quick fix method to it. All the user needs to do is remove the entire finish from the damaged area. In case, the damaged area is large, the user needs to refinish the entire wood veneer piece. The user needs to make sure that the entire damaged finish is removed as well as the refinished. It has been recommended to take help from professional in order to repair black spots from the wood veneer furniture.