Ski Builders Forum

Anyone ever try a “ceruse finish” on their veneer skis or boards? Like this guitar:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Luthier/s/PgiC1uDit0

If you have, I would love to see your pics and hear your experiences and/or tips. I love the look. My thought is to do the finish on the veneer before pressing so the epoxy doesn’t seal the grain, and maybe use paper backed veneer because it’s a bit thicker and sturdier than the unbacked I usually buy. I have no clue if the grain will be deep enough on veneer though. I imagine the other challenge will be keeping the finish nice during post-press shaping, sanding, sharpening, etc..

Anyway, I’m gonna give it a shot one of these days. I’ll post my experience over in journals.

Cheers!

I have a feeling that the veneers we use (or at least the ones I use) are way too thin for this type of treatment. I suspect that even the paper backed types would also be too thin, and this is from experience having sanded through the veneer on a woodworking project several years ago. If you do attempt this I would love to hear about the results.

However, I do like your idea of 'finishing' the veneer before pressing but I wonder if that would impact the flexibility of the veneer or its adhesion to the ski...definitely worth experimenting on my next pair.