Many homeowners choose decorative veneer panelling as a cost-effective way to introduce a timber look into their interior design without the expense of solid timber. Regardless of your material choice, it’s important to consider the most appropriate timber coating to protect and maintain the beauty of your timber surfaces.
However, using CUTEK Extreme CD50 or CUTEK wood preservative is not recommended for decorative veneers.
Let’s understand why.
Most decorative veneers comprise of three core layers: 0.6mm of a decorative timber veneer on the outside, a layer of glue and a core substrate such as plywood, MDF or chipboard.
CUTEK Extreme CD50 and CUTEK wood preservative have a penetrative action, which means the oil will seek to penetrate deep into the substrate. Given the make-up of veneer, the oil will be blocked by the layer of glue bonding the veneer to the core material. Since the top layer is thin and the oil cannot diffuse past the glue line, it will tend to make the timber veneer translucent, similar to oil-soaked paper. This translucency may cause the darker glue layer to show through and create a patchy appearance.
CUTEK Interior coating
Instead, you can use CUTEK Interior on decorative veneer as a protective layer. CUTEK Interior is an ultra-matte water based interior wood coating that provides the high durability and protection of a polyurethane coating while retaining the timber’s original natural beauty and appearance.
As a polyurethane coating, CUTEK Interior will not penetrate the top timber veneer layer; instead, it acts as a protective skin that shields the veneer surface against general wear and tear while maintaining the natural look and feel of timber.
These properties make CUTEK Interior suitable for decorative veneers, as well as many other interior timber projects.
