How to Remove Veneer From a Dressing Table

Removing the veneer from wood furniture can be relatively quick and easy, or a drawn out and labor-intensive project. The crucial factor is whether the veneer was attached using an organic hide glue or a synthetic resin-based glue. Hide glue is extremely common in furniture built before the 1960s and quite rare in furniture built since then. Applying heat and moisture to hide glue will soften it and greatly reduce its adhesive strength, making the removal of the veneer much easier. Heat will also weaken the adhesive strength of resin-based glue, but to a lesser degree.

Steam iron or heat gun
Stiff scraper
Needle-nose pliers
Coarse sandpaper

Instructions

- 1
  Locate the edge of the veneer sheet, preferably at a corner that is already peeling or curling. Use an iron or a heat gun to evenly apply heat to a small area of the veneer. If using an iron, the steam setting can help to further soften hide glue. If using a heat gun, hold it at least eight inches from the surface of the table and keep the nozzle in constant motion to prevent scorching the underlying wood.
- 2
  Insert the scraper between the veneer and the underlying surface and pry it up. Working in shallow stages along an entire open edge of the sheet, rather than prying deeply in a straight line, can help minimize fracturing and make the overall project faster and easier. Use needle-nose pliers to lift and peel loose sections of veneer.
- 3
  Reapply heat often to keep the glue soft. Pry up each sheet, working from one edge to the other. Keep the scraper as level as possible relative to the table's surface to avoid gouging the underlying wood. Once the veneer has been removed, scrape and sand to remove any remaining adhesive or leftover fragments of veneer.

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