Glenn, is there any need to soften the veneer before trying to reattach it? I hadn't realized before this thread that shellac was being used for commercial finishes for that long but I'm glad - I'd much rather muck around with shellac than lacquer and I'd much, much, much rather work with it than varnish (particularly working against an existing finish!)

First picture here shows my cabinet, but not theworst spot which is the top, the veneer is cracked, peeling, missing and moldy.I was wondering what would be the best thing to use on the mold and how youwould remove the veneer. I have someveneer that my hubby said he would help me replace. The rest of the cabinet is in decent shape sojust needs a good cleaning. There aresome chips on the edges here and there that I am not real worried about. I might use the veneer that comes off the topto fix those. I might need to reglue the draws because they wiggle a bit, I think someone picked it up useing those. I think the only thing this set is missing is the belt which I have already replaced, it is just waiting for it to be cleaned up before I put it on.



https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphot...65417842_n.jpg
The machine needs a good cleaning; it looks likeall the oil used on the machine hasgotten on it and turned yellow and sticky. With all the decals on it I was worried aboutwhat I could use to clean it and make it shine again. What would you suggest?
https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphot...73306258_n.jpg

Kat,

To reiterate what I said on your other post and add to it, here's a few more comments. But no mater what I say or do, I'd suggest listening to Skip if he says different.

White vinegar kills and cleans off mold. So does bleach. Don't float the wood in it, just wipe it down good and let it dry. Also if you let the wood dry and air out from where ever it was, it will eventually loose the moldy smell.

If the old veneer is almost completely detached you can gently work it off with a thin blade, I use a hacksaw blade. Go in from every angle and pry up gently as you push the blade in. That way you can get most if not all of the old veneer off. Less sanding and surface prep if you can get the old stuff off completely.

I am no expurt by any means, but from the little I see there, I'd use the hacksaw blade or credit card to get the glue under the layers of veneer and then clamp and or weight it down. Then when all the loose pieces are glued, use an exacto blade and carefully square up the area where the piece is missing and graft in a patch. Keep the grain the same direction, then stain the patch to match the original parts. After that perhaps a coat of shellac and then some wax.
I have done that a bunch lately and if done carefully it doesn't look that bad and sometimes just disappears.

Joe

Just wait a few days - Glenn is off catching fish somewhere - he will be back soon.

Thank you both Joe and Miriam,

Joe, I didn't see you post anything about getting rid of the mold, guess I missed that part of your post. I should get a picture of the very top of this cabinet to post because the veneer is so bad I think I should take it off and replace it or maybe just not put anything over the solid wood. And when I found this thread I thought I would get Glenn's opinion because I see that he has been doing this to quite a few things and I bet he knows some tips and short cuts. But then all the help I get is great, I have not refinished many pieces of wood furniture, so Thank you Joe.

Miriam, I hope Glenn is catching a few trophy fish, my project can wait, I am in the middle of making things for my Halloween party which is just around the corner and the "White" can wait until even after the holidays if it needs to. I am in no big hurry I have waited and waited to get a Treadle Sewing Machine of my own I can wait to put her in the house.

I will have to get a close-up picture of the top just to show how bad it really is, this picture was only so I could do research on the internet.

Thanks again for the info
Kat

This is great! I have the same White Family Rotary with the same cabinet in basically the same condition. As with many of my cabinets, the "do I glue and made do OR do I strip it off" veneer decision looms heavily. The attempts to glue have met with limited success, especially when using the cabinet to sew. All it takes is a decent amount of weight, and one taught thread or safety pin to create a problem. At one point my Alvah's top had masking tape applied just so I could finish a quilt!

Looking forward to suggestions, especially when the top layer is now wider than the space from which it lifted. How DO you handle that?

If you are reglueing loose veneer you can soften it with with a damp rag for a few minutes to make it pliable to lay flat ant then glue down and then place wax paper between the glued veneer and and heavy weight and leave onver night.

Kat if you use my cleaning solution one(in a tutorial cleaning and revining furniture finsh) it will klill and get rid of the mold and smell. It will do wonders for the cabinet which is not as bad as you think from the pic. After clelaning then you can evaluate the cabinet and see what is needed. I would like to see pic of the after cleaning then I can advise you better as what to do with the cabinet. I don't use Joe method of venegar because it will loosen the old hyde glue. But Joe is correct on the rest.

Skip

Thanks. I'll give it a try on one of the rougher cabinets first.

pinkCastleDH,

Next week sometime I should get my dark brown Briwax past wax. I had to order it as nobody here in Springfield carries it.
When I'm finished waxing the treadle top I'll post a bunch of before and after pics.

You will not believe the difference between the damaged before and the repaired after pics. Truthfully, neither do I.

I'm using mostly Skips instructions with only a minor variation for color match. If I say something and he says something different, do what he says. I'm just a rank beginner at this wooden cabinet fixing stuff.

Joe