Got a little too confident with my orbital sander on a thrift store desk

I was refinishing a $20 nightstand from Goodwill in Tulsa and thought I could smooth out a weird stain in 10 seconds flat. Instead, I burned a groove right through the veneer and now it looks like a meteor hit it. Anybody here ever tried patching veneer with wood filler and stain and actually had it look okay?

2 comments

2 Comments

henderson.mila2d ago

Tulsa! I filled a gouge with wood glue and sawdust, worked great.

the_robert2d ago

I'll push back on the glue and sawdust thing, Mila. I've tried that a few times and it never quite matches the grain or takes the stain right. If the burn is deep like you're describing, you might be better off cutting out that section and patching with a new piece of veneer. That way you don't end up with a dark spot that screams "fix me.