Trim the veneer

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There are two fairly easy ways to remove the excess veneer that is sticking over all the edges. Probably the easiest is to invest a small amount of money in a veneer trimming tool. It's a pretty simple and straightforward tool. You can see a picture of it at the previous link. As with all things to do with this kind of work, patience is a virtue . . . . BE VIRTUOUS!. Go slowly and carefully.

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Veneer trimming tool

We'll start with the use of the veneer trimming tool first.

Although the veneer is stuck down tight it will sliver off if you work too vigorously or from the wrong starting points.

Start trim cuts on end grain (that is the ends of kitchen cabinet doors or cabinet ends) from the outside and work toward the middle from both sides. Don't work in the same direction from one side to the other, because when you go off of the far side you would without a doubt, take a sliver of veneer from the surface where you don't want it to sliver off.

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When you trim the sides, work in the direction where the grain starts on the inside of the kitchen cabinet surface and runs out over the edge. If you start your cut in the opposite direction and cut against end grain of the veneer it's liable to tear chips out into the surface you're working on.

An exception to that is where you come up against a wall or the ceiling. Work as close as you can then very judiciously trim the remainder with a razor knife.

Sand The Excess Veneer Off

To sand the excess veneer off you will need a hard sanding block and 180 grit sandpaper. First take something hard and rounded, like the shaft of a screwdriver and starting gently run the rounded edge back and forth at an angle to the overlapped edge until it defines where the edge of the kitchen cabinet door or other surface is, then with the sanding block at an angle to the edge sand gently until you go through the veneer and it falls off.

Be very careful not to sand any of the flat surface across the grain.

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Surface Preparation Is Next

The job appears to be going real well, now we'll go on to the preparation of the new veneer surface for staining and finishing, or you can go to the Kitchen Cabinet Refacing Menu to review some of the other subjects.