Creating Magnetic Wood Veneer Panels?

Question:

I’m about to start a veneered kitchen. The customer would like to use magnets to attach photos, artwork, etc. to the veneered surfaces of the cabinet doors. I once used a veneered sheet metal to create magnetic “wood” refrigerator panels. For this kitchen I am considering attaching .016 thick sheet steel to MDF with contact cement, and then attaching BFV or NBL veneer to the steel with contact cement.

Does anyone have any thoughts on this procedure? Am I asking for trouble?

Answer:
We think you’d be totally fine with the method you've described in constructing these panels. We’d suggest the phenolic backed or wood-on-wood veneer for this application. Using a good grade of contact adhesive will work fine, and you should probably sand the surface of the metal to get a little more grip with the cement.

As with any contact cement veneering, use a scraper block or hard edged blade to smooth and apply pressure to the veneer. A j-roller doesn't apply enough pressure per square inch to ensure proper contact and bond. For more information on this you can go to Oakwood Veneer’s User Tips section. Good luck !

Oakwood Veneer Tech Support
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Follow-up Question:
Thanks for your reply. I don’t have enough experience with contact cement to know which brands are “good quality.” Are there any that you particularly recommend? Are there advantages to solvent based over water based?

Answer:
While personally I have always leaned toward solvent based contact cements there are allot of folks using water based adhesives and reporting good results. The only thing that comes to mind is with porous surfaces. Both solvent and water based contact cement the substrate needs to be “primed” in which you can use a diluted cut of the glue itself but with water based it needs to dry overnight before applying your “tack coat” , with solvent based it takes around 30 minutes before you can apply the second coat. The issue you need to be more aware of is movement of the veneer itself in the environment so burnishing the veneer down using enough pressure to seat the veneer is paramount.

Oakwood Veneer Tech Support