1. VENEER NOT plywood veneer is for backing of flooring material
2. I would say we could use CC grade clear with or without some patches NO holes you can fix them with patches.I think splits will not be suitable as well but le me check first.
You can offer smaller sizes it does not have to be 8 x 4 but i.e. 4' x ... or 5' x ... 6' x ... 7' x ..... or 8' x ....