Removing Veneer Tape from Marquetry

It's easy — the glue in the tape is water-soluble. September 27, 2008

Question
We buy a piece of veneer marquetry for an inlay in a product that we produce. It comes from the manufacturer with lots of veneer tape on it. What is the best way to remove this tape, short of sanding through the veneer (which is the problem that I am having!)?

Responses
(Veneer Forum)
From contributor T:
I will assume you are gluing the marquetry into the product with the taped face up and then wish to remove the tape. The glue is water soluble, so a thorough dampening with water and some light scraping with a card scraper should be all you need. Can be done dry with a well-tuned scraper.

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From contributor W:
I will second the suggestion given by Thomas for removing the veneer tape. If you can find one at a stationary store, a small plastic bottle with a sponge top used to moisten stamps works well for applying water in the amount needed to moisten the tape. On larger surfaces, I use a random orbit sander with dust collection and I have seen a highly respected professional, whose work has seen the pages of FWW and other publications, use a belt sander!