I sanded through a small (about 1″ by 1/2″) section of walnut veneer plywood, leaving a very light section. I need to darken this section to match the surrounding veneer, but it will not take stain, filler or oil. I suspect the light patch is is the glue layer between the surface veneer and the next layer.
I only have two ideas: paint, or make a patch. I’m not familiar with glazing or milk paint, but I suspect those might work. I’m reluctant to cut a patch, due to the location, and the difficulty of sanding in the patch to fit without worsening the problem.
Of course, this came at the worst possible time – I was 15 minutes away from being totally done with the final sanding, on this seven-drawer mostly solid walnut dresser.
Any ideas? Thanks.
(P.S. – I posted this note in the Finishing forum last night. I’m re-posting it in the general forum, in hopes of getting a few more responses. The one response I got in the finishing forum recommended the patch approach.)
Replies
Well, a burn in kit could work, but . . . you've already tried oil. Lots of things aren't going to stick to it now, and if you sanded that deep in the veneer, you have a bowl in that area now that won't take filling easily. I think I'm with the patch idea, or a whole new piece of ply. Sorry.
I have not ever tried it on plywood, it probably will not work but when your desperate (not saying that your are) sometimes you will try anything. Anyway, I do not like patches per se, because they always look like a patch. So what I do when I screw up on something that compromises the surface is I inlay something into it. A design of some sort, a contrasting wood perhaps, a dovetailed key, a brass plate with your name on it etc. That way you can say you did it on purpose and it makes it uniquely yours.
Like I said I have never tried it on plywood but maybe this will get your creative juices going in a direction that will enable you to come up with a solution. Just a suggestion .
You ought to go big or put a doily on it.
By going big I mean to replace the piece with solid wood in its entirety or revenire the entire section. Your description leaves me without much information as to what would be easier.
Unless it is a wonderful crotch section or a burl that ought to be parsed out in thin cross sections I don't play in venire. You don't get many second chances. It always seems like way too much labor for a minimal benefit of stable large planes.
AS a ditch effort to reclaim the piece you could put a similar patch of the identical coloration and grain pattern into the recess you sanded. put a dollop of a rigid adhesive on the spot then put a clamp block over the spot and clamp the crep out of it. It will squeeze out glue but the resanded interface will be indistinguishable from the original unless there is finish on the venire. The above method works with gouges or splits or chunks that come out of solid wood in construction. If you match the grain and coloration and clamp the crep out of it the joint is not visible. Venire Eh? what is to lose? I guess the doily.
Depending on placement and accessability of the sanded through area, this method has saved me a couple of times. First try to find a piece of lumber matching closely in both color and grain. Next use a router to remove a path the entire length of th piece of ply wide enough to remove the entire affected area to a depth of 1/16 to 1/8 of an inch. Next glue in your patching piece but first size very closely to the depth you need so you don't create another sand through. Hope this helps.
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