Collocations for veneer - noun

thin

acquire, add
maintain
peel away, peel back, strip, strip away, strip off
The lyrics strip the veneer of respectability from the music

strip sb/sth of
They have stripped the veneer of jingoism from the play by showing war in its true horror.

hide sth, mask sth
He managed to acquire a thin veneer of knowledge to mask his real ignorance.

crack
For the first time her veneer of politeness began to crack.

behind a/the veneer, beneath a/the veneer, under a/the veneer
They're brutal people behind their civilized veneer.

veneer of
He concealed his darker side behind a veneer of respectability.