Here's the starting point:

Picture 1 - The glovebox door as it looked prior to working on it.

Picture 2 - Hardware removed, but nothing done to the door. Notice the difference in the colors of the wood. The darker stuff was hidden beneath the hardware and trim.

Picture 3 - Clear coat (polyurethane?) remove, but none of the old veneer removed. I couldn't get the clear coat off the dark part of the wood. I used a new razor blade to gently lift the clear coat off the wood. Where the wood was discolored by the sun, it lifted pretty easily in most places, and in large strips. Some places chipped off little by little. I used just a razor blade (risked cutting my fingers, but didn't...lucky me!!).

Picture 4 - Decided to go ahead and remove the old veneer for thickness purposes - was worried that the old hardware wouldn't fit properly, and couldn't get all the old clear coat off (I hate sanding...lol). Notice the dark lines in the wood where the old veneer had split along the grain. Again, I used a new razor blade to remove the old veneer. With 32 year old glue, it was pretty easy for the most part. I did dig a couple of ditches into the wood, but they weren't real bad at all. Instead of using just a razor blade, I used a scraper (my fingers got sore from removing the clear coat). Plus, I felt I could do smaller movements using my thumb against the scraper. I went back to the razor blade alone to scrape the remaining glue off the wood beneath, and lightly sanded it with 120 grit. I may go back and rough it up with 60 before I glue my veneer on. Who knows?

I don't yet have the walnut burl veneer, but I get ahead of myself a lot...plus I don't have anything in the glove box that warrants keeping the door on. I also wanted to gauge how easy or hard the old veneer was going to be to get off, and what mistakes I needed to watch for.

Watch for more pictures!!! If I can figure out how to shrink the videos I take on my camera, I'll post up some vids in the sights n sounds section after I redo the veneer.

 

mOtOr looking good buddy, have you considered purchasing a random orbitor sander? You can pick up a cheaper model at harbor freight or a northern tool. It would speed up process considerably. Just a thought. (I work with a lot of wood).

 

I actually have one of those. Sanders make me nervous, though, on things that I don't want to goof up...lol. (I don't trust myself that much with power tools). Thanks for the tip and the kudos, Rick!

I'm still waiting on the guy from the wood place to call me and let me know how much the 6 foot wide by 8 inch tall piece of walnut burl veneer "wood" be. May have to call him.

 

try this company, I have used their products for along time, no problems at all and easy to use!
http://www.band-itproducts.com/

 

Yea, I may have to go with a fake veneer. I'd prefer to "keep it real," so to speak, but if I can't get it, I might just as well go for the look.