How to Fix Slightly Delaminated Veneer on Table Top?

[jaykchan]

My friend just gives me his dinner table. The table is covered with hardwood veneers. Unfortunately, the seam where two veneers joined is slightly delaminated. The edge of the two veneers are still glued together; but the two edges have losed contact with the wood underneat the veneers. Therefore, the seam is slightly higher than the table top. The affected areas are very small: 2 seams that are 5 inches long each. Strangely, only the middle area of the seam has this problem, the two ends of each seam are OK.

My questions are:

- What caused this problem? Did this have something to do with placing hot pots in the middle of the table?

- Will this problem extend to the full length of the seam?

- What should I do to fix this? I know I should not sand the seam down because the veneer is likely to be very thin.

- Should I splice open the seam and use a syringe to inject some glue under the seam? What type of glue is appropriate? I guess I need some fast curing glue, right? I will not be able to clean the glueing surface before applying glue on it. Will the glue hold?

Thanks in advance for any help.

Jay Chan

[dadiOH]

Could be. _____________

Not likely ______________

First thing I'd try is to iron it down. Start with medium heat, increase if no result, be careful of the finish. Best if you can test first someplace that doesn't show.

[jaykchan]

Thanks.

Jay Chan

[jaykchan]

point, I can live with this because the area is small and is not obvious. Glad to know that this problem will not extend further. I will put a new coat of finish over the entire table to protect it.

Jay Chan

[Tom Watson]

You can measure the thickness of the substrate and drill a hole from the bottom that just barely comes through the substrate (not through the veneer).

The hole must be large enough for the needle of the glue syringe that you will buy from one of the woodworking supply houses.

After drilling the hole, stick the shop vac hose over the hole to suck out any detritus.

Put some yellow glue in the syringe and push some glue into the void between the substrate and the bubbled veneer.

Withdraw the syringe and duct tape a paper towel on the hole to catch the glue that will be squeezed out in the next step.

Gently push on the bubbled veneer to press the glue into all areas of the void, then use a J roller or a rolling pin to press the bubble down flat and then put down a piece of plastic wrap and then a flat piece of plywood on which you will set weights for a period of 24 hours.

Properly done the fix will be invisible and permanent.

Regards,

Tom Watson

tjwatson1ATcomcastDOTnet (real email)

[jaykchan]

unforunately the area that is slightly delaminated is very small -- meaning that the it doesn't bubble up far. I will have a hard time control the drill depth not to punctuate the veneer. I think I am better off leaving good enough alone and don't touch it.

I will keep a note on your very clever way to fix this kind of problem. This may come in handy in the future. Thanks.

Jay Chan

[CW]

[jaykchan]

I didn't realize that there is a well-established method to deal with this problem. Thanks for pointing this out. What's the significance of drilling two holes instead of just one? Does this have something to do with using one hole to inject glue and another hole to let air to go out? I assume I should rest the table on its side, and inject glue into the upper hole and let the glue to flow downward toward the lower hole using gravity alone, right?

Jay Chan

CW wrote:

[CW]