WHAT IS A WOOD VENEER?
A veneer is a thin layer of wood used to provide finishing to different wood products. Typically, it is glued to a composite wood such as MDF or plywood to give it a natural, decorative appearance. Wood veneer is often used to provide the same aesthetic as solid woods, at a lower cost. However there are lots of advantages, and they can often get a bad reputation of being low quality, which is not the case. As with anything else, you can get good quality veneers and bad quality wood veneers, but just because a product has veneers it does not mean it is necessarily a low quality product.
WHAT DETERMINES THE QUALITY OF A VENEER?
The quality of a veneer is typically defined by three things; the thickness of the veneer, the adhesion of the veneer, and the substrate wood.
THICKNESS OF THE VENEER
Generally, thicker veneers are less likely to chip and are better quality. Thick veneers are also easier to repair, as they can be lightly sanded if marked or scuffed –something that cannot be done with thin veneers.
LOW COST
Good quality veneers will always be adhered with wood glue or resin.
The substrate wood may sometimes be a cheaper solid wood, but is generally plywood or MDF. Good quality veneered pieces are generally made from plywood than MDF.
This is generally why veneers are often associated with low quality – the main reason they are used is generally to save money. Veneers use much less natural materials than solid wood whilst offering a similar aesthetic.
Due to using much less wood, veneers are also more environmentally friendly than solid wood. Solid wood pieces use much more timber in their production, whilst veneers maximise the use of each log.
Due to there being much more of it, there is much more selection available in terms of wood grain when manufacturing. This makes it easier to match the wood grains together and create a more consistent aesthetic.