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Wood veneer help needed DESPERATELY
Hello
About a year ago I purchased a walnut veneer wall unit for my living room. They were sent to me finished with two coats of Minwax Wood Stain in Natural 209.
When I received it, there were some dry looking spots on the veneer of the cabinets. I followed the instructions sent and rubbed the cabinets down with some old english. The dry spots went away, and then reappeared about a week later. I read on a woodworking forum that sometimes you need to repeat this a few times for the dryness to go away completely, which I've been doing once a month or so for the past year.
However, the dry spots will not go away. They seem to be getting worse. This only happens on the cabinets, and nowhere on the shelves. I have attached pics for reference. Any advice would be GREATLY appreciated. I'm hoping it's an easy fix.
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Re: Wood veneer help needed DESPERATELY
That’s a loss of finish, no wax or Old English’s going to fix that. It could have been from rubbing in transit, or not being fully cured when it was packed for shipment, but you will not likely have any remedy’s from the seller after a year.
Is it repairable? Yes. But it’s not an easy, homeowner fix. If that were my piece I’d source a dark tinted wiping polyurethane gel and experiment with darkening coats, would take several and a skilled eye to get a good blend without overdoing it. You can also call in a pro to do it and it would cost you a couple hundred $$$.
Re: Wood veneer help needed DESPERATELY
Thank you so much for the response! While it is not the answer I was hoping for, I am hoping I can get it fixed.
How do I go about finding someone in my area that can address this? I don't even know what to search for.
Thanks again!
Re: Wood veneer help needed DESPERATELY
I did a search for "furniture refinishing and repair" with my city and state and came up with a list of local experts. You might contact them and see who does finish repairs. Some might be just upholstery or other types of repairs. Maybe Duane can tell you some national chains or experts local to you that might be reputable if he knows where you are located.
Re: Wood veneer help needed DESPERATELY
I have one thing to add to see if it changes your assessment.
The spots appear mostly in places where I put things down on the cabinets. Not move around a lot, but just set there. For example we have a tray on top that just sits there, and the spots will always appear under/around it. Or if my purse sits on it. Not sure if that means anything, but wanted to make sure your assessment is based on all the info.
Thanks again!
Re: Wood veneer help needed DESPERATELY
I just got a note back from the manufacturer saying to just apply another coat of the minwax natural stain overall. Would you recommend this?
Thanks again for your help!
Re: Wood veneer help needed DESPERATELY
Feel free to wax away! It won't hurt anything.
However, when you get tired of waxing with no results refer to my first reply.
Re: Wood veneer help needed DESPERATELY
Just to clarify, I believe they are saying apply more stain, Duane, not wax. Minwax is the brand.
Re: Wood veneer help needed DESPERATELY
Yes, I did re-read that. Thanks.
Well, you can't just apply stain over an piece that has been in use - its not prepped right. Even if you get all the accumulated dirt / oils / waxes / polished off the surface, you are going to most like Fisheye on the new stain and even if you don't, its going to show up as a big ole non-matching spot and look worse than it does now. It's no different than on a car hood - you can't spot paint a car hood, it will look terrible. You have to sand down the entire area and build your finish up from scratch if you want to make it look decent.
The RIGHT way to fix that is to sand the top to bare wood and then start your staining process over from scratch. That's hardly a quick and easy consumer process. Sending a customer some stain with a "here, try this" note is really just a way to get them to go away.
I have very good luck using paste varnish gels when I don't want to do a full strip down on my own furniture at home. It's relatively fast and easy, but you will get shading differences that way - not in a bad way but it won't look like the factory finish.
Re: Wood veneer help needed DESPERATELY
Thanks to you both for your help! This is invaluable advice. I am going to bring in someone and get a full quote. I would love to get the costs covered by the manufacturer but I'm not holding my breath.
Thanks again!