In situ veneer repair?

[kalanka]

I discovered and fixed a deck leak but not before extended seepage onto a structural bulkhead behind the anchor locker had occurred.

The bulkhead is 1 inch marine ply faced with a teak veneer and is now fully dried out.

The bulkhead ply seems entirely sound but the teak veneer has lifted over an area about twice the size of my hand. It is not warped and I want to try to re-fix it by knifing a cut over the lifted area, injecting glue and pressuring until dry.

Has anyone done this? What would be a suitably strong and waterproof adhesive?

There are so many bolts and other fittings on and through the bulkhead that I definitely do not want to completely replace the plywood for what I believe is a cosmetic problem.

Thanks

 

[PlankWalker]

I have veneered existing bulkhead, though not repaired as you suggest. I made a few pin-holes in the veneer to release any trapped air spread epoxy on veneer and ply, positioned veneer on ply with celotape and covered with cling film. I applied pressure using some dense foam some scrap ply and struts against an adjacent bulkhead.
The following day after removing the pressure and cling film, epoxy had oozed out through pin holes and edges but this was easily cleaned off and sanded down as the veneer I used was quite thick, probably 1.5mm, the resulting appearance was very good.

 

[Deleted member 36384]

You are probably not going to like this. I had a similar problem and carefully slid a flexible spatula between the veneer and the original bulkhead. The pressure built as I probed about with the spatula and the rest of the veneer started lifting of very easily, despite tapping which suggested that it was firmly in place. I removed all the fittings and found the some damage to the bulkhead. Long story short, a section of bulkhead was removed and a new piece epoxy glued in with a backing strap glued and screwed over the butt joint. A template was made of the area to be veneered and after the surface was prepared flat, epoxy glue used again to glue the new veneer in place. It was held in place by props and ply until the glue set. I am glad I did it because what turned out to be a cosmetic job ended up as a major refit, but seriously, water damage can spread far, it is worth checking deeper.

 

[Tranona]

The damp will have altered the shape of the veneer and even if there is no damage to the underlying ply (which you cannot visually check) it will probably not go down flat but will have a crease in it. The other big challenge would be to get enough adhesive (epoxy?) between the two surfaces so that there is an even spread. A slit in the veneer at the top, pour the adhesive in and use a roller from the bottom up to push the two together with any excess coming out at the top. Then apply your pressure pad, lined with plastic sheet or tape to stop it sticking if any adhesive leaks out and leave to cure.

 

[Minchsailor]

I would be tempted to use Cascamite. Water based glue, but waterproof when hardened (about 12 hours). Colourless, and much easier to sand down nicely than epoxy would be.

 

[anoccasionalyachtsman]

The damp will have altered the shape of the veneer and even if there is no damage to the underlying ply (which you cannot visually check) it will probably not go down flat but will have a crease in it. The other big challenge would be to get enough adhesive (epoxy?) between the two surfaces so that there is an even spread. A slit in the veneer at the top, pour the adhesive in and use a roller from the bottom up to push the two together with any excess coming out at the top. Then apply your pressure pad, lined with plastic sheet or tape to stop it sticking if any adhesive leaks out and leave to cure.

The OP may get lucky. I've found that thin sheets of wood can actually be compressed if they're wet enough, so I'd have a go with Cascamite (which won't object to water) having resoaked the veneer for a day. I like your slit and roller idea.