I suck at veneering.
Jun 5, 2007 at 5:04 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 3

wafflesomd

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So I'm trying to veneer my DIY speaker's with Dayton Audio's cherry wood veneer.

Though this whole thing has so far been a lesson in why I should never handle veneer, ever.

I only tried to cover one side, mostly becuase I've enver done this, and figured I would mess it up. I hate it when I'm right....

Anyone have any tips?
 
Jun 5, 2007 at 5:39 PM Post #2 of 3
I have had excellent results with the following method.
1.Approximately cut your veneer to the size required for each face of your enclosure - you will need to plan this out beforehand so that the veneer mates up aesthetically by visualizing the finished result.
2. Apply a thin and even coat of impact adhesive (I used Bostik) to both the enclosure surface and the veneer.
3. Let both surfaces dry - BONE dry.
4. Borrow your wife/lover/mistress electric iron and let it heat to say "cotton" heat.
5. You will now be able to iron on the veneer (use a thin sheet of material on the veneer surface to avoid marks). Before using the iron you'll find you will be able to position the veneer accurately without any "grabbing".
6. You should find the veneer is now stuck on like a limpet.
7. Trim the veneer with a sharp knife and follow up with a sanding block - repeat until all surfaces are covered and mate up perfectly.
8. Rub down carefully with a fine grade glasspaper.
9. Apply 6-8 coats of MATT polyurethane varnish carefully rubbing down between each coat with a decreasing degree of sharpness with glasspaper.
10. Buff up the result - if done carefully you'll end up with a deep piano type mirror finish.
I've got home made speakers here that are 20 years old and have exhibited no lifting of the veener using above method and still look professionally done.
You may want to try out steps 1-7 with scraps before you go for the plunge. OK it takes ages but the end result should give years of satisfaction.
 

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