Technical Recommendations - The Importance of Testing

It is an inherent characteristic of wood that due to environmental moisture, heat and light, the colour will change over time. Some species such as Cherry darken with time, Mahogany and others fade and get lighter and some veneers will yellow such as Maple and other white veneers.

The same is true for Tabu Dyed veneers; for example, grey dyed veneers are inherently more unstable when exposed to light and can take on a green hue whereas the colour in pink, blue and red veneers may fade out.

In addition to the fading or darkening it can become uneven depending on how the light and heat hits the wood and its environment. Also, different parts of the grain will absorb the colour in different densities and so areas of tighter grain may appear darker.

The white and pale veneers such as the Tabu Pre-dyed Ash 26.050, can be very translucent and they may require white under veneering first. We sell a white Paper which is specifically used for under veneering and is a great product to use when the veneer being pressed is light in colour with the risk of the substrate showing through. Please note that white veneer will always yellow - the challenge is to minimise the yellowing and delay it as far as possible.

The finish applied to the veneer is critical in minimising these changes. It is essential that the finish (be it lacquer, varnish, Oil etc.) is as UV absorbent as possible to increase the products resistance to light. Always seek specialist advice on which finishes to use for your project and consider the environment the product will end up in. Better still, if you can test the finishes in the environment they will be used in, this will give you a good understanding of the change expected. Please note however that colour changes may take a while to happen therefore the earlier you can complete samples for testing the better.

For further information on using Tabu veneer and the intricacies of working with the dyed veneers, please see our Guidance For Use of Tabu Veneers & Technical Recommendations, where you will find a wealth of information from lacquers and glues to veneer storage suggestions. Alternatively, our Team here at Mundy Veneer are always happy to help with technical information and discuss any of our veneers in more depth.