I'm getting ready to do my first snake skin inlay, and would like to add a few feathers over part of the skin. For those of you who have done this, do you apply a coat of finish to the skin before inlaying the feathers?
Thanks in advance for any input!

I normally stick snakes skin down with flexcoat color preserver. Then a coat or two of same over it. Then a coat of PG, Then Flexcoat color preserver for feathers over that when i do that (a small single guinea fowl inside a diamondback triangle looks good to me with Turquoise and black/silver trim).
When very dry(could take some days) i hit it with PG again a few coats. I seldom do epoxy(i have) but then you lose the 'texture'. But if that is what you want add epoxy over that lot but it will go yellow and dull. Blues look green etc after a few months.
So that is why i stick to perma gloss(PG).
Enjoy.
Oh and if you like that also try out some grass seeds with feathers/skins/bark flakes/lichen flakes/dried insect buttcaps in epoxy.
Nature provides some amazing items.
In the split of a split grip it can add some weight but balances rod too.
In front of the reel it will kill all but a deepwater jigging rod.

Thanks for the feedback, Lou! I was about to ask the same thing.


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Rod Enthusiast and Photographer at Petstreetmall.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/29/2018 02:54AM by Calver Skrien.

While it was not specifically mentioned, it is necessary to coat snakeskin with CP to prevent it from going black, or at least very dark. So if you don't go with feathers, keep the CP.