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Covering woodgrain vinyl with veneer?

Zonker92

Zonker92

All shiny and chrome
My F1200 Velodyne subwoofer is wrapped in cheesy black woodgrain vinyl, with a very impressive 80s faux granite plastic on the lower edges. Is it possible to glue veneer to this finish, or do I strip it off first, or what? I may just leave it alone, but I'm curious. (Value is not a big issue; unfortunately they don't sell for a fortune although I love the performance.)

Thanks.

Exemplars:

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Yeah, that was my suspicion, too; thanks.

I just checked out the veneer thread here; that gave me a good sense of the job, too.
 
Just heat the vinyl covering with a heat gun and it will come right off in one big piece. Give it a sanding and apply veneer. Man, that sounds too easy, lol.
Good luck with the cabinet!
 
I'll add my vote for stripping it first.

Incidentally, though you only have to deal with straight lines and should be able to clamp it quite neatly, one useful trick that I've found for applying veneer to curved surfaces is those vacuum storage bags that they sell for blankets and such like.

Stick the assembly in one, evacuate and you get 14psi (or whatever one atmosphere is these days) uniformly applied over the whole surface, regardless of curvature.
 
My father is an experienced carpenter and he told me how to do this. Use the heat gun to peel off the vinyl, but DO NOT sand the glue underneath. Just leave it there and apply new glue over top. If you try to sand the glue will clump and you will no longer have a flat surface. I am going to do this to my Energy Pro 22's, I will start a thread on the rebuild.
 
Zonker.

Like everyone else stated, you cannot glue to vinyl. You will have to strip the old covering off. A heat gun will work, eventually.

There are 2 things you'll need. Laquer thinner (any big box store) and a spray bottle (dollar store).

Being a cabinetmaker, the easiest way is to make a slit in the vinyl on the side from front to back. Peel up one edge a little with a putty knife.

Put some thinner into the bottle and spray into the area where you peeled it off. Keep the box at a 45* angle, (I use a milk crate) so the thinner pools in the valley. Wait about 30 seconds and spray again. Now grab the vinyl and pull. Keep spraying as you pull the covering off. The thinner will disolve the glue to release the vinyl. Continue this for all surfaces 'till all the vinyl is off. Let this box dry for about 1/2 hour before sanding.

Now, this is the important part to get a good bonding surface. Get some sanding-sealer to prime over the wood. Do this after you have sanded the entire box.

DO NOT use a random-orbital sander to remove the old adhesive. You will only round over the edges. You need to use either a vibrating (straight) or belt sander to get a flat surface and sharp edges. After sanding, seal with the sealer. 2 coats will do. Block sand with 320 grit then vacuum.

NOW, you're ready to veneer. Do those 45's (little strips) first. Lightly sand the edges flush, then do the big surfaces last. The seams will dissapear.

I know it seems like alot of work, but the thinner will make the job go much faster. Just make sure you do this OUTSIDE. The fumes will kill brain cells.

Good Luck
 
Those are excellent instructions, CB! I have a pair of Avid 103s that are starting to exhibit that sticky film thing, as they are famous for doing. So, I'm going to be attempting this myself someday, soon.

Just a question, what is the best way to do the edges of the new veneer where they meet at the corners? For someone who's never done this, is it worth it to attempt a 45 degree joint at the corner seam, or is it better to just lightly sand the edge flat with the perpendicular surface, and then sand the other edge flat with the veneer? How would you keep from making marks in the surface of the veneer already glued to the side that's adjacent to the side that needs to be trimmed?

Thanks for the info! :D
 
How about strip 'em down and paint with truck bed liner coating? A little extra damping for the case walls anyway.
 
Damn, another cabinetmaker beat me to this! But yeah, thulane (lacquer thinner) and pulling slowly on the vinyl will get it off, Using a razor (carefully) or a putty knife to slice at the area where the vinyl is coming off works really well too. I would let the thinner dry off for atleast 24 hours. I don't actually find that sanding sealer is needed, assuming it's just particleboard underneath it, if there is really rough, then yeah I'd advise it, But I always veneer directly onto particleboard with no problems. Assuming it isn't really low grade and full O' holes
 
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I've veneered over vinyl.
Remove all loose vinyl, patch any glaring divots, clean and lightly rough up the surface and apply the new veneer.
 
Huh. Thanks. What adhesive did you use? Seems like as long as the adhesive adheres to plastic, it could work.
 
mayidunk said:
Those are excellent instructions, CB! I have a pair of Avid 103s that are starting to exhibit that sticky film thing, as they are famous for doing. So, I'm going to be attempting this myself someday, soon.

Just a question, what is the best way to do the edges of the new veneer where they meet at the corners? For someone who's never done this, is it worth it to attempt a 45 degree joint at the corner seam, or is it better to just lightly sand the edge flat with the perpendicular surface, and then sand the other edge flat with the veneer? How would you keep from making marks in the surface of the veneer already glued to the side that's adjacent to the side that needs to be trimmed?

Thanks for the info! :D
Click to expand...

Hey mayidunk.

I always do the small area's first. The bigger area's overlap the small. That's the way I learned.

The way I do the 45's is to cut the veneer 1/2" wider then the width of the flat. Do the contact cement on both surfaces and let dry "till it's just tacky to the touch. Now carefully position the veneer with a 1/4" overlap on both sides. Once on, use a roller or a block of wood with a cloth wrapped around it to bond the veneer to the wood.

Then I use a belt sander to remove the excess edge. As an alternative, a "Formica" file can be used. This method takes more skill, but has the same results.

Next, I would cut the remaining veneer for the flats with the same overlap. Just add 1/2" to the exact measurements, leaving you with 1/4" on all sides. Same as above, but on big surfaces, use 1/4" dowels to lay down on the wood. This will give you the ability to lay the veneer down without it sticking together before positioning. When satisfied where the veneer is, pull out one dowel on the end and stick the veneer down. Pick up the other end and remove the rest of the dowels. Make sure the area is clean, and lay down the veneer. Roll or block down making sure you get the edges good.

The overlap can be done with a razor blade and a thin metal ruler (thin plexi will do too). Slide the ruler under the edge, and trim back as much as you feel comfortable doing. Finish off the rest with a sanding block on the "Downstroke". Never into the edge, Always off the edge. 220 grit to start, 320 to get a nice clean seam.

You're going to have to do a "final sand" (400 + tack cloth), so as long as you are careful, the final sand will take care of any "oops". ALWAYS sand with the grain, NEVER against it.

Hope this Helps Everyone.
 
electra100 said:
My father is an experienced carpenter and he told me how to do this. Use the heat gun to peel off the vinyl, but DO NOT sand the glue underneath. Just leave it there and apply new glue over top. If you try to sand the glue will clump and you will no longer have a flat surface. I am going to do this to my Energy Pro 22's, I will start a thread on the rebuild.
Click to expand...

I used a gel paint stripper to remove the glue from a pair of speakers I stripped carpet off of.. Worked really well, and had I of not needed to fill the rounded corners square, there really wouldn't have been much sanding to do at all..

Some times you have to be careful because two glues may not react well together.
 
Zonker92 said:
Huh. Thanks. What adhesive did you use? Seems like as long as the adhesive adheres to plastic, it could work.
Click to expand...

not recommending to veneer over the vinyl. But this website should prove helpful (and probably to many others) when it comes to what adhesives to use

Http://www.Thistothat.com
(no connection)

Very helpful, Select material A, then select what you want to glue to it, And it will give you a list of suggested adhesives, including safety and health hazards for each!'



also, by not removing glue, you stand a chance of having very poor adhesion, Leaving the glue can work if you know exactly what solvents were in the glue, but very high chance of a mismatch!
 
OK, I wound up using press-and-stick walnut veneer, which has a heavy-duty 3M adhesive. I sanded, cleaned then rattle-canned the plinth, then sanded and cleaned the black vinyl wood grain, then applied the veneer to the vinyl. Sanded, stained and oiled the veneer.

Seems to be stuck on very well. Now I just need to put the LED lens and label back on, and install the guts.

Before:

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After:

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Nice job! Love the bookmarked grain ... attention to detail is everthang!

I'd also consider doing a careful check on all the internal blocking. If you see any cracks or checking, either pop and reglue, or just apply some sealant if they're mechanically sound. Only caution there is you'd want to be EXTREMELY careful seeing you've already done the veneer and really don't want to f'up that. I'd also pay close attention to the condition of any gasketing that's there to seal the baskets to the box. Cork or closed cell foam can work wonders on a non ported box.

Oh. And I'd think on popping the connector plate and resealing that too. Good candidate for air leakage there.
 
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