Water Damage to Particle Board under Veneer

[garlanre]

I have a really nice credenza that is a mess on the top (see Flickr pics). Short of replacing the whole top, is this repairable? Could I somehow slip a knife under the veneer and scrape the particle board back down and then reglue the veneer? Or is it, as I suspect, a hopeless case? Rebecca



http://www.flickr.com/photos/54183354@N04/?saved=1

[AsonnyA]

If you're dead set on trying to repair that, about the only thing I could recommend is to cut the back 5" off the whole back edge of the top (using a thin kerf blade). Remove the veneer from he cut piece, replace the partical board (with a solid board or plywood?), then reapply the veneer to the new base board.

Remove the back panel, replace any partical board supporting that back panel, similarly as above, if possible, then either reattach the panel or replace it with a new panel (1/4" or 3/8" luan?).

Trying to clean up that defected partical board is an absolute waste of time, in my opinion.

Sonny

[garlanre]

Thanks, Sonny. That's what I thought. I was trying to decide whether to buy the piece on Craigslist (it's so great looking otherwise). But I had a feeling that mess on top would be a deal-breaker. Since people on this list are so incredibly knowledgeable, I thought it was at least worth asking. But some things are just lost causes. Best, Rebecca