How to Patch Up a Problem With a Table of Oak Veneer

Question: We have an old table that has an oak veneer top. It’s a beautiful piece of furniture except for the small chunk of veneer that has come off of one of the corners. I’ve heard there’s a special veneer patch I can use to fix it. Is that true?

T. K.

Seal Beach

Answer: “I’ve never really heard of a veneer patch, but I do know of a way you can fix it yourself,” says Sam Mason of Sam Mason Stripping and Refinishing in Costa Mesa. “You’ll have to remove a square piece of the veneer where the missing section is, and replace it with a matching piece of oak veneer. You should able to find oak veneer at most lumber supply stores, and you’ll cut and glue a piece in to fix, and it can then be stained to match your table.”

Q: We have a wrought-iron fence in our front yard that’s in need of refurbishing. What’s the best way to paint and restore wrought iron?

P. I.

Orange

A: “The first thing to do is attack the rust by sanding the rusty spots down as much as possible,” says Carol Walter of Alamitos Paint and Wallpaper in Los Alamitos. “Then use a rust-inhibitive marine primer on those areas. After it’s been cleaned and primered, I’d use a latex exterior finish coat, rather than an oil-based paint. Unfortunately, because of air quality regulations in California, oil-based paints have different formulations here, and they don’t hold up as well as they used to.

“You might think about changing the color of your wrought iron. There are new finishes available that simulate the anodized copper look that’s so popular now.”

Q: We have a gas furnace that’s about 25 years old that runs fine, as does the thermostat that was installed with it. I’ve been told by a neighbor, however, that if I installed a new programmable thermostat I’d see a significant savings in my gas usage. Is that true?

H. E.

Tustin

A: “Any savings that you’d have from the new thermostat would be dependent on how you use your furnace,” says Joel Gwartz of B.J. Discount Plumbing and Heating in Garden Grove. “They work great for people who like to turn their furnace on and off when they’re not around. If you turn your thermostat off at night and don’t turn it back on until you get up in the morning, you probably won’t see a benefit out of a programmable thermostat.

“However, if you like to have the temperature in the house cool down while your sleeping and then have it warmer when you wake up, you might see some benefit. They’re pretty simple to install, just like a regular thermostat.

“You have to check before buying one, however, to see if it’s compatible with your furnace, especially if you intend to buy a new one soon. Some furnaces with electronic ignition need to have an isolation relay installed between the thermostat and the furnace to get them into sync.”

Q: There’s a wall on one of our bedrooms that we’d like to repaper. Our problem is that the paper already on the wall seems to be adhering too well. Would we be risking the look of the new paper if we don’t remove the old wallpaper?

G. S.

Huntington Beach

A: “You can paper over the old wallpaper, as long as you’re sure it’s tightly adhered to the wall,” says Pam Zeran of Wallpapers & More in Placentia. “Get on a ladder and carefully look at the corners and seams to check if you see the paper buckling anywhere. You can then paint over the old paper with a latex paint primer and let it dry overnight. This will give you a clean, colorless surface to work off of when you start.”

Q: I was given an old bench grinder that I love to use but I was wondering about the wheels. How do I know when to change them?

F. S.

Laguna Hills

A: “You should hit a label when it’s ground down; that’s when to change it,” says Chad Pearson of Pearson Hardware in Orange. “A six-inch wheel will have a label about three inches down. Be sure that you’re treating your wheel periodically with a grinding wheel dresser, which will keep it glazed.”