refinishing a dresser-advice?

[MisaGoat]

I have a very sturdy, old dresser in my son's room. The finish isn't in great shape and I've been thinking about refinishing it for a while. Last night I put on his humidifier in the dark because he was coughing. This morning I realize the humidifier had been leaking on the dresser all night so now the veneer on top is peeling off from being wet. Now I have to do something with the dresser.

How do I refinish it? What do I do about the peeling veneer, take it all the way off? It is warped now.

[ollyoxenfree]

I hope someone more experienced and knowledgeable answers, but I have a dim memory of my father (who did a lot of carpentry) rescuing a few items with peeling veneer. One was a table and the other was a dresser that had suffered from a leaking aquarium.

IIRC, he dampened the veneer and strapped it down until it dried thoroughly back into proper shape. Then he used some fixative to hold it in place. Finally, he sanded and refinished the whole thing. I'm sorry, I've never taken up his hobby/passion, so I can't be more specific about how he worked his magic. Sadly, he died many years ago, so I can't ask either.

I still use both the table (it has beautiful solid oak legs) and the dresser today, almost 30 years later.

Good luck with the project.

[redvlagrl]

IIRC I think you can wet the veneer and iron it back on low? Maybe google this.

ETA: the veneer is wood, right?

[MisaGoat]

Yes the veneer is wood.