Todd Winter writes:
Hi All,
I have 30 damaged armoires. In shipping or mishandling, they had the hinges
blown out to either the inside or outside. I repaired 11 armoires that had
the hinge blown toward the inside of the cabinet. I used West System Epoxy
Six10 in the caulk tube. It worked great, a lot better than the Devcon 5
minute, of course with slower set up time. Sands easy, dries stiff and no
mess.
I have 20 armoires left to repair. The pictured breaks are about 3 - 4" x 7". What I need advice on is the outside repairs which are a much more difficult touch up because although I was able to get the inside breaks pretty level with clamping, the outsides would require so much sanding (because I do not want to break the pieces completely off and trim down the exposed particle board) that it would leave a larger and more prominent area to re-color. There will still be large repairs to do on the inside after the outside repairs.
I propose to glue splits with West System, sand glued area level, scuff sand side 150? , apply veneer, finish to match. I have never applied veneer before and have only a large J roller to apply pressure. How would you go about it?
Should I spray any type sealer where I have sanded aggressively before applying veneer?
I have 20 armoires left to repair. The pictured breaks are about 3 - 4" x 7". What I need advice on is the outside repairs which are a much more difficult touch up because although I was able to get the inside breaks pretty level with clamping, the outsides would require so much sanding (because I do not want to break the pieces completely off and trim down the exposed particle board) that it would leave a larger and more prominent area to re-color. There will still be large repairs to do on the inside after the outside repairs.
I propose to glue splits with West System, sand glued area level, scuff sand side 150? , apply veneer, finish to match. I have never applied veneer before and have only a large J roller to apply pressure. How would you go about it?
Should I spray any type sealer where I have sanded aggressively before applying veneer?
Will the veneer release while finishing if I use a solvent based
contact cement?
Should I use Contact Cement?
If A Water Based is suggested, what brand? What is a good (the best?) way
to trim the veneer along the front edge? I can buy 4 x 8 cherry veneer for
about $85 local, 10 sheets are needed , could I save money including
shipping ordering online and is it worth the added trouble. I buy plenty
online but not wood products before.
That is all I can think of, Please Help!
That is all I can think of, Please Help!
John Polgar replies:
We had something quite similar. A forklift missed and jabbed
hole in the side of a file cabinet. Hammer into shape, fill,
glue, epoxy. Then we just faux finished it.
Here are the photo's of the project and results:
If you make sure the place where the hinges mount go into
hardwood and the hardwood is epoxied into place along with the
fills and some dowels if needed. It will be as good or better
than new. We have repaired "blown out" hinges in Pboard by
coring out a larger section and epoxying a piece of hardwood in
it's place. Sometimes with dowels other times just glued in.
As long the hinge mounts to the hardwood there is no problems.
Hope this Helps,
John Polgar
Clearwater, FL
