cabinet door veneer delamination

[William Harrison]

 Just finished repairing the delaminated doors on our coach.  The first method I used was to apply a small amount of Gorilla glue
to both surfaces then dab the outside area with olive oil to keep the expanding glue from adhering to the outside edge of the
mating surface, then clamp with a piece of aluminum foil between the door and the clamp.  After repairing 8 doors in 3 days using this method I switched to Contact cement, applying some to both surfaces and allowing it to set up for 20 minutes, I used a heat gun
set on med. on the area to be repaired and the laminate uncurled by itself, then I just used a damp cotton cloth to firmly press
the parts together. (finished all other surfaces in 1 day).

Chuck Harrison
03 Marquis

[Edward Buker]

Bill,

If you find that the contact cement holds well let us know what the brand and type was.
Thanks Ed

[Steve Huber Co-Admin]

Chuck,
Thanks for the tip re the heat gun to uncurl veneer. I repaired a couple of cabinets that I could get contact cement under but also found that applying heat to veneer that had just started to curl returned it to its original shape. Hopefully it will last a few years.
Steve

[JimNCheryl Domenoe]

I was recently in Bend at BCS and their cabinet guru, Jeff, uses Tite Bond III wood glue. Jeff used to build these cabinets and has repaired hundreds of them this way. I had him do some for me and they turned out great. I am going to do the rest of mine this way.

This glue is available nearly everwhere. I got mine at Lowes.

[Edward Buker]

After reading all of this information I would say that maybe the best technique might be to heat the veneer where it has lifted to allow it to uncurl, then lift it enough to work in Tightbond 3 to both surfaces. Using surface blocks of wood, clamp the veneer down to squeeze out the extra glue, remove the clamps and use a damp rag to wipe away excess glue, and then reclamp until set.

For those of you that have used heat to flatten the veneer, please comment on any downside to the heating and how much heat was needed. Not sure if the finish is damaged in any way or if flattening before gluing would work well.

Later Ed

[Steve Huber Co-Admin]

Ed,
It doesn't take much heat. I followed Chuck's input, set my heat gun on medium and held it >6" away from surface. You can watch the veneer panel uncurl in less than 30 seconds so you know when to remove the heat source. As to gluing a panel corner that has been uncurled, I decided not to as I didn't see a gap and didn't want to put more stress on the panel than needed. Also, I was curious as to whether they would re-curl here in the "drier" southwest, and if so how long it would take.
Happy New Year!
Steve

[Dick Simonis]

I don't have this problem yet but I'm wondering what causes the delamination in the first place.  Are there any preventative measures that can be taken to prevent it from occurring.

[Gerald Farris]

Dick,
There are really no preventive measures. It comes with age. However, the condition seems a little more common in wet areas and in the early Monaco production coaches (2003 and 2004), but there is no predicable pattern. I had the veneer lift on one of the cabinet doors in my 2000 while in Arizona.

Gerald 

[Steve Huber Co-Admin]

Just checked this AM. Curl is again evident on non-glued panels that I "flattened" with heat yesterday afternoon. So, glue is required.
Steve

[Keith Moffett]

I had this conversation with jeff in the cabinet shop at BCS.  To my memory, he said that the original glue was not moisture resistant and could come loose.  Seen he said that they fixed any size door for about $40 but dont quote me.

[Lee Welbanks]

This is how I re-glued all of my last year and they haven't moved since.

http://beaveramb.org/forum/index.php/topic,3326.msg25201.html#msg25201

[Steve Huber Co-Admin]

Lee,
That was my original process and material too and I'm going back to it. I'd hoped that the heat treatment would reduce the curl tension but not to be.
Thx, Steve

[Edward Buker]

Lee and Steve,

Thanks for the info. Lee I was wondering if you are using the foaming gorilla glue or their white wood glue that does not foam? I make a mess with the foaming stuff....

Later Ed

[Lee Welbanks]

Ed, I used the Gorilla glue that does not foam and it worked great, with getting it under the vaneer with a model brush also worked great. Haven't had any of the panels lift since doing the work.

[Edward Buker]

Thanks Lee, I would think either Tightbond 3 or the Gorilla white wood glue should work just fine. I have used both on various projects.

Later Ed