A common question beginning furniture refinishers ask is how to identify laminate, veneer, and solid wood furniture. Why does it matter if a piece is laminate, veneer, or solid wood? The short answer is quality and longevity. While laminate surfaces will last a long time, some people don’t consider them quality furniture. And while many people see solid wood as the ultimate in furniture construction, know that veneers don’t compromise the quality, and often add to its value. Let’s look at how to identify laminates, veneers, and solid wood and how they play a role in the furniture’s quality and longevity.
First, we will look at the definitions, or at least commonly used ones, for laminate, veneer, and solid wood.
What are laminate, veneer and Solid Wood?
Laminate
Laminate is a plastic veneer – you can use laminate in other ways, but for this article and general refinishing terms, we will refer to plastic finishes as laminates. You may know them as Formica ™ or Arborite ™, brand names for the materials.
How to identify Laminate
To identify plastic laminate it is often cooler than room temperature compared to wood, which tends to feel slightly warmer. Laminates are hard, much harder than wood. They will still scratch, and these scratches are permanent, but they don’t get the little dings and dents that wood furniture has. The patterns are usually perfect and repeat if present. If there isn’t a visible wood grain or pattern, it is either laminate or maybe painted. Identifying painted furniture components is more complicated since you can’t see the surface. We will look further at identifying laminates under the veneer section.
Veneer
Not to use a circular definition, but veneer is like laminate. Both are thin layers laminated, or veneered, to a substrate. However, for woodworkers, veneer is made of wood, not plastic. And, despite a bad rap, a veneer is a perfectly acceptable product to put on furniture. Veneer isn’t as durable as solid wood, but it allows using a desirable wood species and grain pattern, which would be much more expensive if it were solid wood.
A veneer is made of thin wood slices, and it contains all the characteristics of wood: it is warm, has a depth of grain, and holds stains like solid wood. However, because the veneer is thin, sanding can burn through it quickly. So many beginners make this mistake: start with a power sander and burn through the wood because they don’t understand how to work with veneer.
How to Identify Veneer
You can identify veneer and laminate by looking closely at the grain and the edges of the piece of furniture. Turn the piece around and look at the back or the bottom for tables. If you see a line that runs along the edge of the piece with a thin layer above it, you are looking at the veneer or laminate glue line. You can identify laminate as described earlier. Then, if it isn’t plastic laminate, you have a veneer.
To discern between wood veneer and solid wood when you can’t see a glue line, look at the grain directions and for separate areas on the surface, such as a perimeter and a middle section. Different sections don’t mean everything is veneered, however. The edges may be solid wood and the centre veneer. Inlaid patterns are almost always veneer.
You could join solid woods similarly, but seeing that in most furniture is unusual, with the exception of narrow boards that are laminated together to form a larger panel. These boards run parallel to one another and are edge-glued. See the photo of solid wood below.
Woodworkers often finish the edges of the veneer with a veneer edge band. Look to see if the edge band’s grain runs around the edge of the piece in a continuous line. There will be a minimal line where the edge meets the top, but it isn’t always easy to spot.
Plywood is another form of veneer used in furniture construction. Often, older or homemade pieces are constructed of plywood. Plywood is composed of multiple layers of wood glued at 90° angles to each other. This construction creates a very stable, solid structure. You can identify plywood by its edges and note several layers of wood forming one solid board. While a solid construction of wood materials, plywood is not considered ‘solid wood.’ If you are labelling a piece for sale, you can say all wood construction but don’t say solid wood construction.
Solid Wood
Solid wood is generally considered the perfect furniture. I would argue that isn’t necessarily the case. Solid wood is more prone to cracking with temperature and moisture swings and is often less-valuable softwood. However, solid wood is a good product, especially when finished and cared for properly.
How to Identify Solid Wood
You can most easily identify solid wood by its grain pattern and flow. Wood grain runs through the entire timbre, wraps around edges, and carries through the length of the board. When examining the edges and underside of a piece, if you can’t readily see a line for veneer, look at the wood grain and see if the grain flows over the edges or runs from the length down around the end. Keep in mind that the middle of the piece may still be veneer, especially if the pattern changes abruptly with a new piece of wood. Some tables may appear to be separate boards and look solid, but they are routered veneers made to look like separate boards.
Substrates and Construction of Furniture with Laminate, Veneer, and Solid Wood
We have just scratched the surface of identifying laminate, veneer, and solid wood (pun intended). There is a lot more to a piece of furniture than its surfaces. The piece’s construction plays a big part in its value and longevity.
Furniture makers glue veneer and laminate to substrates. Plywood is often used without a substrate because it has the properties of a solid wood. Surprisingly, if quality plywood is used, plywood is excellent for furniture. The substrates can vary in quality and durability. Often, modern furniture is made from MDF (medium-density fibreboard), pressboard or particleboard (chips, often paper, pressed into shape and saturated with glues). Not only do these materials off-gas toxic chemicals, but they are also very susceptible to moisture and break easily. In the photo below, the surface was actually a paper finish and the edge trim is plastic. You can see the pressboard substrate construction. This was a cheap bookshelf left behind by the previous owner and I ended up selling it as is.
Because of these lousy characteristics, people seek solid wood construction for refinishing. You can choose the lower quality pieces to paint and fix up however you like, but know that their resale value is based on how good you can make it look and not on the piece’s innate value. The phrase, making a silk purse out of a sow’s ear, comes to mind.
Construction Materials
Another thing to watch when buying furniture is the description, like “super heavy. It must be solid wood.” While some solid wood furniture is very heavy, so is MDF. MDF is often much heavier than solid wood furniture. So please do not assume it is solid wood and check the construction.
If you can see the back and underside of the piece, look for the construction materials. Pressboard, particleboard, and MDF are not wood – they will not have wood grain or any grain. MDF is composed of very fine particles, and pressboard and particleboard have larger bits. The back panels of dressers and bookshelves are often made of these materials, or pressed paper, which is okay. You can easily replace them if they are damaged or keep them if they are in good shape. The rest of the piece should be constructed of wood, though. Wood is structurally much stronger and easier to repair, if it does break.
Drawers and Doors
Usually, or hopefully, the drawer fronts and sides and the door fronts are made of solid wood. The middle of the drawer and door panels may be a thin plywood. Look at the drawer fronts and check for dovetails, a sure sign of solid wood, at least the edges. Ideally, the drawer boxes are thin plywood or even solid wood. They may be MDF or pressboard and do not last as long. The older the piece, the more likely wood was used in its construction.
So you Identified the laminate, veneer, or solid wood Components, now what?
Now that you have identified what a piece is composed of, you can determine the best ways to refinish the piece. I cover these refinishing products and how to choose them in this article, but I want to look at your choices once you have identified the material as laminate, veneer, or solid wood.
Refinishing Laminate
Laminate will not take stain and can be left as is or painted. I have painted them, and they turned out well. You can buy many great paints designed to stick to tiles that work on laminate. Some people say to scuff sand laminate, but I disagree. Scuff sanding creates a bite for the paint to stick to, but those scratches will never come out, unlike in wood refinishing, and can often show through the paint. Use a quality high-adhesion primer and a good paint with a built-in top coat if you paint the laminate. You can faux-finish it to look like wood grain.
Painting Veneer and Solid Wood or staining
Your choices for veneer and solid wood are not limited to painting. And many would argue that you should not paint veneer or solid wood. Let’s consider that point of view for a moment. You can argue that someone can refinish the piece to its original state later. While it is possible to remove the paint, you will never be able to restore the antique patina.
Painting Veneer or Solid Wood
Modern veneered pieces, or those lacking in style or needing a refresh, can be painted without too much flack. There will always be people who disagree with painting furniture. Mostly, I am trying to say to consider the piece’s age and if it makes sense to paint it or if you should choose a newer, less valuable piece to paint. And in the end, it is up to you to make that call and decide if you are adding value or not based on your choice. So, if you choose to paint the veneer, ensure it is well adhered to the substrate, use a tannin-blocking primer for light-coloured paints, and then choose your paint.
Painting solid wood is generally less controversial, but only when the wood is softwood, like pine. Painting a solid mahogany desk might earn you the equivalent of a Raspberry Award in the world of furniture refinishing. Use a good tannin-blocking primer for light paints, and choose a good paint with a durable finish or top coat it.
Staining Veneer or Solid wood
I would say that the refinishing world is returning to stained wood and moving away from painted furniture. I can hear the cheering in the back. Not everyone wants to stain wood, mainly because they don’t understand it and find it more difficult than painting. As you know, I have a complete program that teaches you everything you need to know to learn this craft, but for now, let’s cover the basics.
Gel Stain for Veneer or Solid Wood
You don’t always have to remove the old finish when staining wood. You can consider gel stain if it is in good condition and you want a darker colour. General Finishes Java is one of the most popular ones. You will need to scuff sand the surface evenly and remove any dust. (Always clean your pieces before you start.) Gel stains require a top coat unless they are an all-in-one product, which I do not recommend.
Penetrating Stain for Veneer and Solid Wood
Next up, you can use a penetrating stain. It is helpful to identify the wood species to decide what products to use (do you need a pre-stain conditioner, for example). Penetrating stains require a blank slate, and you must remove the old finish and stain. Check out my article on these products here.
Stripping the finish from veneer and solid wood
Use a chemical stripper rather than sanding off the finish. You can also use a carbide stripper if you prefer. Sanding off a finish is an amateur move and can leave you with a disaster. Do the final sanding by hand and pay careful attention. Solid woods are more forgiving, but even then, you can sand them too thin or unevenly. I always start with a chemical stripper and remove the bulk of the material. There are some excellent green products. This is the one I use. (I hear the grumblings in the back now) I suggest trying it before you work with heavy chemicals.
In these articles, I cover how to strip furniture and how to refinish furniture safely. You might also want to check out my Beginner Furniture Refinishing Guide, 7 steps to get started.
Dyes
Another often overlooked option is dye. I love using dye on solid wood like pine, which I have burned with a Shou Sugi Ban technique and brushed back to reveal the white wood. The contrast is fantastic. You must be careful not to warp the wood with the heat. Dyes are better for wood that blotches, such as maple, birch, or softwoods (pine, spruce, fir, cedar). These Keda dye powders go a very long way, can be mixed with water, lacquer thinner, or alcohol. I highly recommend them.
Dyes are mixed in their solvent and wiped on, building up the colour. You can also use the dyes in a top coat as a toner. Don’t be afraid to practice on some scrapboards.
Read more
Okay, so that wraps up how to identify laminate, veneer, and solid wood. Next, you can read up on my top two picks for furniture finishes and the three things to consider. You can read more about tools and techniques in my free articles or sign up for the introductory course here.
