Wood Veneer Or Laminate How To Tell

When you re considering the purchase of a new desk you may wonder if the top is veneered or solid.

Wood veneer or laminate how to tell.

Visible layers when viewed from an edge or side. People can easily differentiate between furniture made up of laminate or veneer by the appearance of the wood grain. Laminate in this case refers to a layer of man made mate. Owing to origin and manufacturing process it s understable why veneer is more expensive than both melamine and laminate.

High end desks with solid tops aren t. Many veneers are made of real wood and just because a piece of furniture has veneer on it does not mean it is not good quality or durable. How to tell if the furniture is laminate or veneer. Wood veneer is a sheet or thin layer of quality natural hardwood that is adhered to a lesser quality wood surface.

Thin veneer of real wood on both sides. First i want to make sure we are talking about the same things. Veneer furniture uses a thin layer of real wood unlike laminate which is just made to look like wood. Using veneer is ecologically and economically advantages as you get more out of a single log when cut in sheets as opposed to solid wood.

More expensive than laminates. This gives the furniture piece a higher quality appearance than laminate which can make the piece seem high end when compared to laminate. As for primer and paint recommendations i love kilz primer the oil based one and for paint i use spray paint a lot because it gives such a smooth professional finish without brush strokes. Veneers also make it possible to create designs and match grain patterns.

Veneer in this case is referring to a layer of real wood applied to a substrate that can be of any number of materials. With proper preparation wood veneer can be painted or stained. May contain oak ash mahogany cherry or other wood species that match solid wood components. If the wood has an ornate or carved detailing it is wood.

If it is wood veneer not laminate and it doesn t have any sealant on it you can totally stain it. Real wood veneers can even be stained. Ranges from 1 4 to 3 4 inch in thickness. The difference between veneer laminate solid wood posted on october 2 2013 uncategorized when describing the furniture from our shop on our website we try to remember to tell you if we can about the kind of wood that was used to make the piece as well as a bit of information about the finish.

Furniture made up of laminate is usually polished to make it look like real wood. Laminate and veneers cannot be carved. Plain and simple solid wood costs a lot more.