New veneer thread - different question

[agent511]

I am going to reface cabinets. I have existing almost new European non-framed cabinets. I have 3/4" cherry for rails and stiles, and bought 1/4" mdf cherry ply for the panels (which was supposed to be a full 1/4" but isn't, I'll let you know how it works out)

I had asked before about covering the sides. I was going to use the 1/4" ply, and make thinner rails and stiles, and got some good advise on joining them from this site. I had some concerns about the stiles for these side panels making the front of the cabinet wider, with the doors not covering this extra wood, because of the limits of adjustability of the hinges.

Now I read of a new idea today, and just saw a second mention of it on this site, on another veneering thread. There exists veneers that are made just for this. They have 2-ply, and 3-ply veneers, they have something called NBF (I don't know what that stands for) they have 10 mil paper backed, they have phenolic backed. All these can be glued directly to the side of the cabinet without any vacumn or clamping.

One source of these, mentioned in the other thread, is: http://www.tapeease.com/nblwood.htm
and another is:
http://www.oakwoodveneer.com/wood-ve...g-veneers.html

EIther of these options would be easy, look great, and not take up thickness that would not be covered by the doors. There may be a dark edge with the phenolic based - I don't know, nor would I have any idea of the relative benefits or difficulties comparing 10 mil, 2 ply, 3 ply , and NBF.

Does anybody have experience with these different thicker, more stable veneers? Thanks

[drumpriest]

No, BUT...

There are other options than vac pressing veneers. There are flexible veneers backed with paper, or even 3M adhesive. There are hot melt glue backed veneers.

The paper backed veneers are often applied with contact cement, which is fairly straightforward, you just have to be careful to not allow the 2 surfaces to contact until they are properly aligned. You can do this with dowels or strips of wood between them, pull the middle one first, and work out toward the edges with a J roller.

I don't think that these veneering methods give you quite the bond that a vac press manages, but people use them all of the time.

[Tequila]

When I remodeled our bar, there was one passthrough window that needed to be restained. Rather than sanding and staining, I covered it with hot-melt-glue backed veneer. The veneer is available at Lowes in multiple sizes, and it was extremely easy to work with. Once it was in place and stained, it's impossible to tell that it's not solid wood.

For your application, I'd consider the hot-melt backing.