Fretboard Finish

[The Fatalities]

Im having problems in the finish of my fretboard. Its very dry and grainy and isnt smooth and easy to use like my squier strat. how can i overcome this problem still keeping the original look?

[al heeley]

Maple or rosewood? Treated/lacquered?

[whitey]

ok,i'd like to throw down a similer problem

on my bass,its a micheal tobias 5 string

and the neck woods are bubinga,wenge,maple,wenge,bubinga

i'm not sure what the finish is,but on my guitar,its a satin finish,and it feels smoother than what my tobias neck started of like

the problem is mt neck is really ''dry'' and its sticks when i slide

any soloutions,i have a dunlop lemon oil conditioner for open grained fingerboards...should i give a quick wipe on the neck with that?

or will this involve a fine sand down and a tung oil finish (because the soft grain had sort of ''shrunk'' and the hard grain stands out)

thank you

[al heeley]

For the back of your neck, I'd suggest a good rub down with a scotchbrite finishing pad to 'satin' the finish. See how that feels, I did this to my maple Tele neck (which bears no comparison to your exotic wood sandwich) but I love the feel of it.

[The Fatalities]

it is rosewood and i think its just raw. it doesnt seem to reflect light like my other necks. i want it to be smooth and have a finish that wont scratch.

[al heeley]

You should not apply a 'finish' to rosewood. It should not need it. You can clean it with a very mild abrasive like wire wool 0000 gauge but only in the longitudinal direction of the neck, not across the grain, or buff it up with some proper lemon oil fretboard conditioner, not the bogus naphtha stuff with lemon scent added (Naphtha is basically lighter fluid, and a good degreaser) it sounds like your board needs a little oil back in it.

[The Fatalities]

You should not apply a 'finish' to rosewood. It should not need it. You can clean it with a very mild abrasive like wire wool 0000 gauge but only in the longitudinal direction of the neck, not across the grain, or buff it up with some proper lemon oil fretboard conditioner, not the bogus naphtha stuff with lemon scent added (Naphtha is basically lighter fluid, and a good degreaser) it sounds like your board needs a little oil back in it.

I dont think it had any oil in it to start with

[whitey]

thanks al,

my granpa has some simaler stuff at his work shop,hope it works cause its doing my head in lol

you can actually here the dry squeeks being picked up through the amp,makes people flinch

obviously not good for recording lol

[Nitefly SA]

i oil my fretboard every string change, never had any sticking problems

[The Fatalities]

it feels cardboard when i play but i will oil it with fretboard conditioner.

is there fretboard shampoo? (i just couldnt help myself with the lame joke)

[al heeley]

I used a good coating of linseed oil on an old rosewood board once, left on thick overnight then wiped off and buffed up. It felt a bit oily for the next few days but seemed to do the trick.

[whitey]

doesnt rosewood have its own natural oils?

[al heeley]

It does, but if its old or out of condition the oil does not last forever. Too much solvent cleaning can leach the valuable oils out of the wood. A good condition rosewood board should not really need treating more than a few times a year.