This isn't that bad! I used an orbital sander and wood putty to fix the veneer on an old pair of speakers. They're not perfect, but they look great. I glued down some veneer that was peeling due to the PO setting drinks on the top of the speaker, filled in a lot of nicks and scratches with wood putty, and then sanded them with an orbital sander. I was VERY careful around the corners... but let me reiterate. You cannot be careful enough at the corners. In fact, do the corners by hand if you can. Gently. Also, check that your wood putty will stain DARKER than the wood itself. Repairs that are darker than the wood look fine. Even if it the putty stains a LOT darker, that's perfectly fine. If the putty doesn't take stain well, and ends up being lighter than the surrounding wood, then the repairs become very noticeable. So pick your stain first, test it on the bottom of the cabinet, and test it on dried and sanded putty (it will stain different if it's not sanded). There are lots of different types of putty out there, so if the first one doesn't stain well, try another. Working with this putty is actually pretty easy. Big nicks -- even corner nicks -- can be repaired this way, as can deep grooves and scratches. It's all very forgiving -- except that veneer at the corners.
I was SURE the speakers I had needed completely new veneer, they honestly looked like someone had dragged them behind a truck over concrete. But, the veneer was thick enough to sand, and putty plus a good sanding really made a huge difference. HUGE. You can still tell they're not perfect... mostly because the putty I used stained a little lighter instead of a little darker. (which is why I'm sharing this and stressing the importance to you! The next project I did - veneer on an Akai GX-280D - I used a putty that took to stain a lot better, and that turned out remarkable!)
I think I might have 2 hours and $20 in the repairs. It wasn't bad at ALL. (stain, sandpaper, wood putty, tung oil, plastic spreader for the putty)
Charles.
