Neck Refurbishing

[Bushidoka]

Picked up a solid body Charvette last week guys.

This was a well used guitar, for sure, for sure, the bridge block was broken off, a few dents and dings in the finish, etc.

Well....The body has been stripped and primered at this point(have taken pictures all along the way, I will post them for you all this weekend). It is being painted with a green to purple color shift paint. That part is fine, with a small side note, DO NOT use mineral spirits to sand out your primer!!! A little information is a dangerous thing

I read that you could use the spirits when sanding to help keep the paper clean. If I had given it a seconds thought, I would have realized it would not work on primer (DUH!) lol.

Any ways... The real question.

The fretboard is a nice dark wood, I believe it would be maple on this specific guitar, with lots of character. I want to keep it, but it is worn in about 1/16 in all the usual notes.

What is the best way to fill these before refinishing? And do I urethane or clear coat over the fret board? (will it make it "sticky" I guess is my question?).

Thanks guys.

This is my first post here, though I read for a bit first, then joined last week. I like your board, nice and simple, good info, etc.

To tell you a bit about myself, I am in Ontario Canada. I know guitars and music. I buy/sell/collect guitars, But usually only axes that have a floyd rose, or are Jackson/Charvel (or Krammer here and there), USA or imports, I don't care.

So if I can help out in these areas, let me know.

Usually, my rebuilds are electronics, neck swap, Jem grips etc. I don't repaint them, so thanks for any help!

[ihocky2]

Anything you try and use to fill in the worn areas is is going to stick out like a sore thumb or chip off really badly. The only thing you can really do is replace the fretboard. And a Charvette is not known for being a quality guitar. Most are plywood with a few being basswood.

[Bushidoka]

Yes, I know what they are. This one is solid body, that's why I figured I would refinish it. Some one has replaced the tromolo with a lic floyd, and it still has the j-50 bc by jackson in it. Figured I'd restore it a bit.

If I can't fix the neck, I'll just swap it out, but there goes the profit quotient so to speak.

Could you fill with crazy glue, level and urethane?

[syxxstring]

The only way you'll fill it and have it not be noticed is if your paint it first a color and clear it. Which you can do over maple easily. Bolin did it on Billy Gibbons guitars with rosewood, but it would be more work.

[SwedishLuthier]

The fretboard is a nice dark wood, I believe it would be maple on this specific guitar, with lots of character

That part, I don’t get. Dark maple? As in really vintage golden dark maple? Or really dark as in rosewood or ebony? If the first case..well I have no good suggestions. But if it is the later: http://www.frets.com/FRETSPages/Luthier/Te...fboardivot.html I have done exactly this on a 50’s acoustic Levin with surprisingly good result. The fix is visible (mostly due to the really tan rosewood) but acceptable.

[Bushidoka]

Right on, thanks.

I checked out frets.com like you suggested Luthier, and I like the process they show there, be a bit of work & time though. If it were a keeper, I'd go that route for sure, I could see that working nice.

I didn't want to re-fret the neck really, I might try that down the road, but not right now.

I was thinking more just a clear fill, like a drop of urathane, let it harden, add couple more drops till I'm board level, then a layer right over the board between the frets. I don't even mind scuffing the neck and doing it at the same time. Not the greatest solution, I know, But how bad is it? Will it chip off? Guess it would definetly change the way it feels.

Never tried anything like that before, so I just don't know. If it's too much time, I'll just file the frets and leave the neck be. I Don't want to make it worse by trying to fix it lol!

Just curious, how long would it take an amateur to re-fret a board? Tools I got and I'm mechanically inclined heh heh!

thanks

[ihocky2]

Time is probably only several hours. But getting a quality job takes practice. There is another option that is kind of a cop out but will work well to get rid of the grooves. Try scalloping the board. I have a Jackson JS-1 that I go dirt cheap to refinish. The board has a huge deep scratch in it. I don't feel like replacing the board, so I am going to try my hand at scalloping on it. If I don't like the feel, it goes on ebay. If I like it, my wife will kill me.