ihocky2 Posted July 13, 2007 Report Share Posted July 13, 2007 Thanks for the info. I think I am going to take a chance with it and see how it goes. At worst the board gets dirty and looks like it actually gets played. I can live with that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WezV Posted July 13, 2007 Report Share Posted July 13, 2007 Thanks for the info. I think I am going to take a chance with it and see how it goes. At worst the board gets dirty and looks like it actually gets played. I can live with that. best way to look at it IMHO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cherryburst Posted July 13, 2007 Report Share Posted July 13, 2007 then you have the issue of wearing through the dyed maple to show lighter wood underneath. Thanks, but would an oil-based stain penetrate deeper into Maple to help prevent this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WezV Posted July 13, 2007 Report Share Posted July 13, 2007 certainly not deep enough to stop the inevitable Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soapbarstrat Posted July 14, 2007 Report Share Posted July 14, 2007 Why would penetrating deeper help it any ? What you are concerned about is the very surface of the wood that you can see. Any of those oils will not keep the maple clean. I have a maple board on one guitar done with "Danish oil". applied that many years ago. If you like clean looking maple, then you'd think the Danish oiled board looks like hell now. Next time, I'm going to use super-glue as a wipe-on finish. I already did it on scrap and I think it's better than anything. I'm not talking about a built up gloss finish (yes, I've done that with CA as well). I'm talking about a satin finish, which is pretty much the surface of the wood hardened with super-glue and lightly sanded and polished with steel wool. I can't remember if I used water-thin or medium super-glue, or an in-between mixture that I know I made a while back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyManAndy Posted July 14, 2007 Report Share Posted July 14, 2007 Soapbar, Tru-oil is much different than any other oil, including Danish oil. It's a hard finish that builds on the wood, which is why warmoth accepts it under their warranty, as opposed to other oil finishes. So why would it not keep the maple clean like other hard finished do? CMA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soapbarstrat Posted July 14, 2007 Report Share Posted July 14, 2007 Sorry, tru oil is not as protective as hard finishes, and as a result, you will get darkened areas over time from all that finger wear on the light colored wood. Try it and find out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyManAndy Posted July 14, 2007 Report Share Posted July 14, 2007 When you say "over time", that seems very vague. Even lacquer will wear down over time. I spoke with a very experienced refinisher who does a lot of tru-oil necks (hundreds) and he tells me that it's a very nice finish. He has not had any issues with the finish so far. Here is a pic of a neck, on a guitar he plays very frequently, that he tru-oil'd four years ago: In any case, my point is only that it is a much more durable/protective finish than traditional oils, and can get quite hard if allowed to cure properly. A tru-oil finish, done right, will protect maple from discoloring just like laquer will. Here is an interesting thread I found about tru-oil that touches on issues we are discussing such as durability and hardness: http://www.kitguitarsforum.com/forum/threa...?id=357_0_7_0_C CMA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marksound Posted July 15, 2007 Report Share Posted July 15, 2007 Tru-Oil is a great finish, but I don't think it will keep a maple fretboard from eventually becoming worn and dirty. That's Houndog's Strat, ain't it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyManAndy Posted July 15, 2007 Report Share Posted July 15, 2007 Yeppers, he is the "refinisher" I was talking about. CMA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soapbarstrat Posted July 15, 2007 Report Share Posted July 15, 2007 The neck in the photo looks to have a dark wood fret-board, so yeah, not much to worry about on that one. it's the fret-board that get the abuse, not so much on the back of the neck. I did a few oil finishes on maple necks with rosewood and phenolic fret-boards and the oiled back of the necks still look good. Fret height also matters. Low frets make your finger tips grind into the board more. It's hard to keep fingertips clean enough not to grind in traces of dirt that eventually start to accumulate on the lightly finished wood. I think Enie Ball/Music man uses the tru-oil. I can see the dirt on some of them. Seems like the ones that go up for sale look more clean. Maybe they didn't play so nice, so didn't get much wear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyManAndy Posted July 15, 2007 Report Share Posted July 15, 2007 Here is what Houndog said: "It's very durable [the finish], and plays great on maple fingerboards. About a third of the necks I've done were maple fingerboard necks...." I'll just have to wait and see when I get a chance to do some maple fboards with tru-oil. I'll definitely post an update and see how it works out. CMA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WezV Posted July 15, 2007 Report Share Posted July 15, 2007 Tru-Oil is a great finish, but I don't think it will keep a maple fretboard from eventually becoming worn and dirty. The point i have been trying to get across in this thread is that anything you use will wear away and become dirty eventually - there isnt really a cure for that. Oil will do it within a couple of months, tru-oil i could see lastig a couple of years heavy play, lacquer maybe a couple of decades!!! The good thing about tru-oil is that it has the advantage of feeling like an oiled neck but is much more hardwaring than a normal oil finish. Personaly i hate the feel of lacquered fretboards so would always choose a dirty oiled neck over a clean lacquered one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bainzy Posted July 15, 2007 Report Share Posted July 15, 2007 Would you guys put lacquer over a Cocobolo fretboard to prevent any alllergic reactions? I've got 2 I want to put on my doubleneck project, but I'm starting to think I may be allergic to the dust and don't want to make a guitar I can't play! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmrentis Posted July 15, 2007 Report Share Posted July 15, 2007 Did the wood bother you before any cutting or sanding? That wood always makes me nervous because I am allergic to so much, I think there was like 3 things I didn't react to on a full allergy test. I have some coco and it came wrapped with a tiny bit of dust, but so far no problems and I have handled it quite a bit for dry clamping f boards/headstock cap, figuring inlay placement. I haven't really done any cutting though and I can bet you that I will react to the dust, just as I do to most thing, but I will just take extra precautions especially considering I already have asthma. I think most problems will come from just the dust of it, so a very clean fboard might be ok without finish, but if you feel you are becoming allergic to it and just want to be safe instead of swollen, you could finish it. That wood look very nice, dark, and rich when finished OR you could just pop a couple Bendryls before playing everyday, that way you will fall asleep before you react to the wood, lol. Good luck. J Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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