How do you repair oak veneer that's been sanded through?

Dale Marquis
by Dale Marquis
  7 answers
  • Linda Sikut Linda Sikut on Dec 02, 2017

    I'd total remove and replace it. Or if the surface underneath is good, I'd paint the item or possibly stain it. If you choose stain, it has to be wood not particle board and you'll need to sand it smooth. Wishing you the best!

    • Dale Marquis Dale Marquis on Dec 02, 2017

      I thought so. It's a bathroom cabinet so I figured I would have to replace it. Thanks


  • Dena Roberts Dena Roberts on Dec 02, 2017

    There really is no way to repair it properly. You will notice the patch. Best thing to do is strip off the veneer and replace it.

  • Deb14153574 Deb14153574 on Dec 02, 2017

    If you are going to paint the table, you can use bondo (from any auto supply store) and then sand it even.

  • Cynthia H Cynthia H on Dec 02, 2017

    Sorry, once you go through the veneer there is no repairing it that I know of. Sheets of veneer are available, or you could paint it.

  • Gale Allen Jenness Gale Allen Jenness on Dec 02, 2017

    You can cut out the area where the veneer is sanded thru plus a little larger area. You can make a jig to run a router in so that you get a perfect rectangle hole just deep enough to fit a new piece of veneer or you can route deeper and make your own solid wood shin to glue in. Then once glue is dry you can sand it down flush. But in many cases with store bought furniture they use a import plywood where the veneer is so thin that you almost can’t touch it with sand paper without sanding thru it! If your lucky enough to get a domestic plywood piece of furniture which is pretty much unheard of any more unless you have your furniture custom made? The domestic plywood veneer a good 1/16 Plus thick to give you plenty of veneer to sand for refinishing! Without seeing your table and the spit you sanded thru, it’s difficult to advise you what’s the best way to go to fix your table as best as it can be? If the spot you sanded thru issmall? I’d just not mess with it and go ahead and finish it as it is! If it’s that darn thin import veneer you’ll likely damage your table more trying to fix the spot and trying to get it sanded smooth! A trick you can do though, even with this thin veneer! Take a damp cloth and lay it over your vaneer where your going to be sanding and take a hot iron and put it on the damp rag or wash cloth and steam the veneer that will raise/swell the veneer of the wood. This will give you just a bit more thickness to sand! You can use this trick when you have little gouges in your wood to. Will raise the gran in a gouge to make it easier to sand out without going through the vaneer! Your probably working with a import plywood and it’s very hard ever for a expert to repair without replacing the whole top of the table! So if you can live with the spot you sanded thru? I’d leave it alone And just stain and lacquer it and call it good

  • Dale Marquis Dale Marquis on Dec 02, 2017

    It's a custom cabinet in the bathroom. The cabinet is next to the sink so the wood had swelled and I sanded too much to smooth it out. I have about 3" spot where I sanded the veneer off.


  • Lin Lin on Dec 02, 2017

    we had to sand through an oak table top due to a bad burn. I used oak stain to match and several od coats of poly depending on sheen needed to match. came out like brand new.