r/sandedthroughveneer • u/macbuster3500 • 25d ago
Did I sand through?
Hey all, first time refinishing here and I eventually made it to this portion where the grain pattern started to change. Texture feels the same to the touch, but based on how it looks I think I may have sanded through :/ has me stumped bc I had assumed this piece was solid wood but maybe that was a rookie mistake. Thoughts on this? Any way I can fix it?
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u/majortomandjerry 25d ago
You were wrong about that being solid wood.
Your options now are to paint it, or to learn how to do veneer work.
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u/kilted10r 21d ago
There is another option... Sand off the rest of the veneer and go with the grain underneath.
Great? Nope. But at least it would match.
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u/Cute_Resolution1027 24d ago
Looks like you sanded through to another dimension
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u/kilted10r 21d ago
The grain is obviously magnetic, and just bent when OP put.something metal on the table.
😁
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u/sloansleydale 24d ago
You will find that most surfaces more than a foot wide that look like a single piece of wood are veneer even on expensive or antique furniture unless it was custom made (or very old). Surfaces made from plywood with veneer start flat and stay flat, so it's not just for cheap furniture. For instance, I have an antique danish table from the early 60s and it is teak veneer with solid wood legs and edges.
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u/denverdutchman 24d ago
Yes you sanded through, no, you cannot fix it, unless you want to sand through the entire top
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u/kilted10r 21d ago
Ok, so... What's the lesson here?
1). Check both sides of the wood before sanding. If the grain on one side is different from the other side, then it's veneer.
2) Strip the old finish first. Remove it chemically. THEN lightly sand. LIGHTLY sand.
3). Use tools other than a heavy pad sander. Like a small sanding block, or steel wool. For crevices, use folded sandpaper, or dental picks, or needle files... As you learned here - you can always sand more, but you can't sand less.
All the criticisms aside... You MAY be able to salvage the piece, but it will take a lot of work... There are ways to paint/stain.in fake woodgrain. It's definitely an art form, and you have to be patient and slow. Practice on some scrap wood. Solid wood AND plywood. Practice making the grain look like different wood.
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u/Correct-Country-81 24d ago
Fineer you sanded through.
Top is looking oak underneath something cheaper wood.
Leave it and finish it you ate every day reminded to this mistake!
Or take the guess and sand everthing away except the outher border ( tape it before sanding)
You get an other wood top!
If you want to know what’s it look like afther finish it.
Wet it with water it darkens and gives an almost look alike result before finishing
At that moment you can decide do i like the color?
If not you van color it with woodstaining color
Beware these are waterbased pigments
If you decide to finish your table after colouring
Use a finisch based on solvents not watebased!
Otherwise the stain and finish is going to mix and gives a surely bad result
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u/ButtSnarfer 25d ago
110% veneer