I have been trying this out on an old bass (Vox White Shadow) I've had lying around for about 20 years. I bought this in the 80's, lent it to a friend who dropped it at a gig, damaged the 2nd fret and fretboard. It needed the fret replaced and a bit of repairwork which I've never got around to.
Decided recently to de-fret it to give me a fretless bass and a chance to try out the method for when I build my lap.
Some photos below, after seeing the thin veneer finish, I'm thinking that that would look sweet on the lap.
I've given the neck a rough sand but still to finish it off. There are a few "holes" around some of the frets caused when removing the frets still to be repaired with superglue. I also repaired a guage in the fretboard by filling it with dust from sanding the fretboard, then a drop of superglue, see highlight in photo.
I used 0.6mm maple veneer, glued in with superthin superglue. I tried to use the minimum amount of superglue to make finishing easier, (and because I'm a Scotsman and I'm sure you've all heard the wallet jokes
![Wink ;)](./images/smilies/icon_e_wink.gif)
Now I need to buy a decent fretsaw with depth control for when I use the same method on the Lap fretboard.
![Image](http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l264/lemonguy/VeneerGluedIn_zpsff21391a.jpg)
All veneer glued in
![Image](http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l264/lemonguy/GuageRepair_zpsa4450fc4.jpg)
Photo on the right highlights the repair to the guage, worked out better than I expected.
![Image](http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l264/lemonguy/Trimmed_zps3f6bd7df.jpg)
Trimmed back the veneer using snips on the sides and a hobby knife on the top. The red stain on the top fret is my blood, I relaxed a bit too much with 3 frets to go, whoops
![Embarrassed :oops:](./images/smilies/icon_redface.gif)
![Image](http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l264/lemonguy/RoughSand_zpse93a7111.jpg)
Rough sand, still a bit of work to do
![Cool 8-)](./images/smilies/icon_cool.gif)