My Lowe's review

Yes, me too... paper thin veneer chips off as fast as it can peel away from the board.

Would Not Recommend

Our local Lowe's started stocking this, we assume, as a replacement for the more expensive but horribly awful maple-veneer plywood they were getting from Roseberg. That maple, which they still sell at other locations, frequently hid foot-long voids beneath the surface. At first, we were relieved to have a good alternative to the Roseberg Maple and were impressed by the noteworthy absence of voids in The McCorry Sanded Plywood, but the veneer began to reveal its fragility. The wood cut cleanly, owing to good technique and tooling, but soon after, during basic handling and assembly preparations, the veneer began flaking from the edges at every opportunity. The only good news is that we had already determined that this product, with a veneer featuring dozens of smooth sanded knots, was just barely paint-grade. While we often finish our maple cabinetry with clear, see-through finishes, we had already anticipated covering the McCorry product with an opaque color. We will have to waste time with glue patches and filler, but at least it will be covered by a durable coat of cabinet paint. I sure wish we could purchase some good wood and focus on adding value, rather than on rescuing the material from debilitating issues inherent to the product. Thank You.

The response

Response from McCorry

Hi, thank you for taking the time to share such detailed feedback. We're sorry to hear about your experience and appreciate you bringing these concerns to our attention. We'd like to investigate this further. Could you please email a copy of your Lowe's purchase receipt, along with the store location, purchase date, and any photos of the product or the issues you experienced, to customercare@mccorry.com? Our Customer Care team will review your case and follow up with you directly. Thank you for giving us the opportunity to look into this.

My Lowe's Receipt

Here is my receipt for the purchase of four sheets of McCoory Corry Pro-Panel plywood

The product barcode label

Here is one of the barcodes affixed to the plywood

The problem, simply stated.

The veneer does not seem to be attached to the substrate with a thorough layer of glue. Case in point: This strip of veneer flaked off the edge of the wood. A close up inspection of the mating surfaces reveal that no or perhaps very little glue was layered in between the veneer and the substrate. The repair requires gluing the shard of veneer back to the structure as if I had set aside time time to repair antique furniture in the middle of my project.

... and possibly of greater concern.

There are places on the sheets where the veneer is lifting off the substrate. I have had to slice the veneer with a razor, peel it back, glue it, weight it down, and pause work while waiting for the process to complete. This has caused me to speculate that the first coat of Sherwin Williams Premium water based primer will reveal many other areas where the lift off will happen. I don't think I can feel assured of good results until the final coat of Sherwin Williams Emerald Urethane is cured. This is the first time I have had veneer cause me such unease.

Numerous photos of the veneer peeling off.

Please note that the wood was cut with a a splinter guard and sacrificial backer board. The problems illustrated in the photos occurred after the cuts were made while simply handling the wood panels. The veneer just flakes off as if there was no glues attaching it to the substrate.

A parade of holes

This collage of photos shows the way the veneer lifts when drilling holes. Please note that these holes were drilled with a brand new, never before used, Lee Valley brad point drill bit. These bits usually produce perfectly clean holes in veneered plywood.

While I had planned to fill the holes over the screws before painting, I was disappointed to observe how poorly the veneer is adhered to the substrate.

Lee Valley HSS Lipped Imperial Brad-Point Drills

If you are curious about the Lee Valley brad point drill bits, here is some info:

A link to the Lee Valley web page describing their top of the line brad point drill bits.

Description

These are the best brad-point drills we have ever offered for sale.

Starting with top-of-the-line American-made twist drills, we reshape and sharpen the tips on a state-of-the-art Swiss CNC grinder. Made from high-speed steel, the bits are not subject to burning, and stay sharp about 10 times as long as carbon-steel bits.

The polished flutes give superior chip clearance, and the sharply defined lips have a slight negative rake angle on the lip tips to score the hole perimeter for clean entry and smooth sidewalls. Equally important, these bits are extremely accurate in diameter.

Paint Grade... indeed

I acknowledge that the wood is clearly described as "paint grade", but I have to wonder if the log used for the veneer was found in a scrap pile after it was determined the infestation of knots could not be used to make structurally sound 2x4s. While considering how miserly thin the sheet of veneer is, I wonder why the budget could not allow for the procurement of a better log.

Conclusions

I purchase this style of plywood so I can focus on adding value to the product by building shelf units and cabinetry. When a problem such as illustrated occurs, I end up spending a good portion of the project having to pause and resolve the debilitating issues.

I would prefer to purchase a product that did not introduce these problems.

I have been using the Roseberg Maple veneer plywood sold at Lowe's for nearly 10 years. That product has its problems, namely, voids to numerous to count or work around, and occasional giant voids that span significant portions of the sheet. But, I have never had concerns about the integrity of the Roseberg veneer. It has always been predictable, rewarding good workmanship and proper tooling, while holding you responsible for the mistakes you make.

My experience with the McCorry product is that no matter how much care I take, the veneer just falls off, leaving me with hours more work repairing and restoring the surface of the project.

I feel like this experience has cost me more money than the purchase price of the wood, in terms of wasted time and effort, despite my willingness to purchase the highest grade of plywood offered at the Lowe's I shop at.

I hope you find this information helpful.

Thank you.