Laminate or Veneer: How to Spot the Difference and Choose the Right Option for Your Furniture

I still remember the day I had to differentiate if the furniture they were offering me was either Laminate or wood veneer, I didn't know If I would be able to restore that beautiful vintage piece from the 60's. I was so overwhelmed of not knowing the difference and in result taking a piece that would not be able to strip and sand.

How to tell the difference?

Veneer is very thin layer of real wood adhered to a substrate, in furniture it might be adhered to pine or even press wood ; My tip : veneer would have irregular grain wood, and would be finished usually with varnish, and on very old vintage pieces you will noticed that varnished peeling off ; in the other hand Laminate is a synthetic material mimicking wood grain and it's usually glossy and looks like plastic adhered to wood , like a wood grain print, yes! it is like the MDF from the 50's; Also laminate grain is very uniformed it is almost impossible to sand to a raw wood grain as with Veneer, the only thing that you will find its the press wood layer slowly showing up.

Can I Sand Laminate pieces ?

Yes , with a high grid sand paper of 180-220, and if you are planning a coat layer of paint on it.

Laminate picture below:

Wood Veneer Picture below:

Close-up to Wood veneer :

if you have any questions regarding a piece that you are not sure either is laminate or veneer, email us and we will be happy to help you!