Wood stain pens are a better choice than a Sharpie. I believe Minwax has a line of them. They come in a number of colors and go on much more thinly; you can "feather" them to blend and add additional layers to get the color darker. Most paint stores and the big-box home stores carry them.

I refinished a laminate dresser several years ago and it still looks great.The first thing you need to do is get a bonding primer and paint the whole thing.Then paint with acrylic enamel in whatever color you choose.Use a small sponge roller for the larger surfaces.If it has grooves or whatever you can paint those areas with a brush first then the roller and smooth out again with the brush.The roller will leave a nice smooth finish without leaving brush marks and painting will go a lot faster.You can finish with an acrylic sealer but it isn't necessary.After the baby comes you can add some stencils or something if you like.I did a faux marble finish on the top of mine with a sponge and several coats of acrylic sealer over that.I did it about 10 years ago and it has had lots of wear and still looks great. Good luck and congratulations on the new baby!......Lillie

It sounds to me like you can glue down what is still there and fill in the rest with wood filler, then sand the whole thing smooth and paint. If you do that you'll want to use a regular wood glue I think, spread VERY thin over the whole piece to be glued, press, wipe up any glue that squeezes out, lay wax paper over it, and weight it down with books, bricks etc. for a few hours till it dries. An alternative, rather than replacing the entire veneer, woudl be to cut off the damaged part and just replace that. You have to get the same thickness of veneer, cut the old veneer in a straight line with a razor blade, clean it off, make sure it is perfectly flat and even, and glue on a new piece. Let it hang over the edge a bit, and after it dries, trim off with a razor blade or a router with a flush cutting bit. Of course, then you have to stain and finish it to match, which can be tricky. Filling and painting might be easier. Good luck restoring your treasure!

You need to be very careful when sanding veneer---it is very thin. A finish sander with 150 grit paper or a hand sanding block with the same or finer grit would be the most aggressive with which i would start. A random orbit (ROS) sander is NOT a finish sander. The quarter sheet 'jitterbug' type sander is considered a finish sander. Using a harsh stripper can cause some veneers to delaminate. I have no idea what the top could be, but you could always sand it to see---and if it gets damaged, you can fairly easily glue an new veneer onto the top. Most woodworking stores stock veneer and the glues and you can order them on the Net.