I used bubinga paperback veneer on the deck and the top of the coaming of a Wood Duck (covered about half the deck).  I used some iron-on glue (Heat Lock) that I got from an online veneer shop, but there are other posts about using this method with Titebond glue.  If you want to use Titebond, do some searching because different types need different dry times and heat settings (for example, see this post:  http://www.webherrera.com/blog/2009/04/19/titebonds-franklin-internationals-iron-on-instructions/)

I am about to do more veneering on the deck of the Kaholo I'm building and will use the iron on method again, but I have non-paperbacked veneer this time. 

The only issue I ran into on the Wood Duck deck was in one spot, I evidently didn't get enough glue on the pieces (you need to really coat both the back of the veneer and the deck) or else I didn't apply enough heat.  I got a little air bubble under the veneer after I applied the fiberglass and epoxy.  So I used an exacto knife, made a thin slit all the way through the fiberglass and veneer and then worked in a bit of epoxy resin and weighted it down until cured.  Worked fine. 

You will also need to sand the edges of the design to feather it so you don't get a raised line along all the edges of the veneer after you apply the fiberglass.  An extra layer of resin also helps get it all smoothed out. 

There are other, more professional ways, to apply veneer, but I didn't have a veneer vacuum press so I went with the glue on method.

I believe George on the forum has quite a bit of experience with veneers, hopefully he'll chime in.

Kathy

TIA,

Just do what Kathy said! I've never used paper-backed veneers. The only thing I do differently from Kathy is for small pieces, i.e., a square foot or less, I use Elmer's White Glue as it has a pretty quick tack time and any squeeze out I might miss on clean up dries clear. And as Kathy says, if you're doing a very large area make sure you get a good amount of glue on BOTH surfaces as the veneers are really dry and will suck the glue up leaving possible voids.

George K

Kathy, George

Thanks for the advice!  I just a little nervous about the paper backing...I don't want to run into delamination problems on the deck.

Steve

   You should be fine as long as you have a good quality veneer and use enough glue.  I applied the paperback veneer across some of the deck joints (had to bend at an angle) and also over part of the hatch cover, and only had a problem at one small spot where I think I didn't have enough glue (if you are using the iron/glue on method I would also recommend getting a glue roller, helps spread it out evenly).  Even that spot worked out fine in the end.  Here's a link to some photos of my wood duck build - the veneering part starts at photo 37:

https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/113605413461236703013/albums/5749613577372398017

Kathy,

Nice job on your wood duck!  Thanks for sharing the pictures, that helps.  I'm going to go with the paperbacked veneer and the heat technique. 

Kathy,

That's one nice boat! Love how the veneer turned out.

So what's going on with the hatch? Rare earth magnets?

Laszlo

   Yes, those are rare earth magnets on the hatch.  They work pretty well, but I dont' know if I'd trust them in heavy surf without a backup - the deck rigging (which I don't think was in the photos) has a bungee X that goes over part of the hatch so I don't worry about it now. 

Kathy

   In the boat shops I have worked we used paper back veneer and titebond glue. We would water the glue down to like milk consistancy and treated it like contact cement and allowing it to completely dry then ironed it to. Of course this was all interior work. I will never forget that zebra wood grain interior. Man it was busy.

good read thanks

Bruce