Jump to content

fretboard finishing...


Matia

Recommended Posts

Hello guys!

i was just wondering what the best or rather easiest finish was avaliable for an ebony guitar fretboard? I picked up a really battered old beast today for the huge sum of 30 pounds!!!! I know I push the boat out eh?! B)

Anyways i'm just going to use it to tinker around with really... an experiment so to speak. But I was wondering what you guys have used or prefer for this kind of thing? Do you generally prefer the natual feel or do you like the properly finished effect? Also I heard a tale that the floral pattern on a Brnt stained blue was acutally a paper cutout then laminated to the neck? Is this true? Or is it even possible to do this?

I'd like to do some nice inlays to add a bit of originallity so any ideas or suggestions would come in handy. The best thing about this wreck is that the body matches the RG series perfectly!!!! Who'd have guessed!

Anyways leave it with ya!

hi dee ho campers! :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Also I heard a tale that the floral pattern on a Brnt stained blue was acutally a paper cutout then laminated to the neck? Is this true? Or is it even possible to do this?

Ebony finishes so wicked glossy with no finish on it, I wouldn't touch it, just polish the ebony, you will be amazed!!!!!!

I really don't know what you're asking about with the paper finish. The JEM77FP was fabric, the JEM77BFP was a paper print, the JPM's were paper prints, and the BSB (burnt blue) was exactly that, burnt and stained wood.

It's all possible, everything is :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Also I heard a tale that the floral pattern on a Brnt stained blue was acutally a paper cutout then laminated to the neck? Is this true? Or is it even possible to do this?

Ebony finishes so wicked glossy with no finish on it, I wouldn't touch it, just polish the ebony, you will be amazed!!!!!!

I really don't know what you're asking about with the paper finish. The JEM77FP was fabric, the JEM77BFP was a paper print, the JPM's were paper prints, and the BSB (burnt blue) was exactly that, burnt and stained wood.

It's all possible, everything is B)

Sorry guys its a case of me knowing what I mean and everyone else wondering what world I'm on again! ha!

... anyways I like my little world... nothing barks at me here...

But seriously I was talking about the Vine inlay up the neck... and now I realise its not even BSB JEM... oh bugger...

I just heard there was a blue vine done on a jem at some point and that it wasnt routed but actually paper that effectively sat on top of the wood and was them laqured! Phew... thats what I meant... I just wondered if that was true?

:D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 11 months later...

Interesting discussion about the inlays.

I want to get back to finishing the fretboard. I just got a guitar kit and I don't think the fretboard is finished with anything. The instructions explain what to do, but I didn't see much about what kind of finish is good to use. I suppose I don't really have to finish it with anything if I don't want to, but I want it to be the best quality possible. Any suggestions for a quick fretboard finish?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Here is a post (from me) I lifted from an old thread, might be something in here for ya...

______________

This is my personal recipe for cleaning natural wood necks (not finished Maple), FWIW...

I take a towel and lay the neck on the towel.

Using Naptha and a toothbrush, scrub that muthu down good.

Wipe dry. Do a second time if you think it needs it.

Let dry for about 1/2 hour for Naptha to gas off.

I use Stew-Mac's Fretboard Finishing oil, which is a film-finish, completely different than lemon oil. Apply with a soft towel and wipe excess back off.

*Lemon oil is really just mineral spirits w/ lemon scent added, that's it.

Mineral spirits take a few days to fully evaporate, but evaporate they do.*

I let the FFO dry for 24 hours.

Next day, I buff it with a towel, then crank up the dremel tool with the little buffing wheel attached and the red polishing compound.

First I buff the entire fretboard, avoiding the frets. No polishing compound yet, just the bare buffing wheel. It will start to gleam quite nicely. Keep it moving briskly, never stopping on any area in particular.

Then, I use the red polishing compound and the buffer wheel on the frets until they are gleaming like sin itself.

This is my recipe for a super-fast and comfortably smooth neck.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have found it very difficult to polish an ebony fretboard with the frets already in. I always end up with a visible, noticable line near the frets where the wood isn't polished. Maube that's just the way it goes but man, it really bothers me seeing that area of unpolished wood. I now try to polish before fretting for new necks so that I at least have a good base to work from for future polishing - if you know what I mean. If someone does know what I'm rambling about and knows how to get aorund this, please let me know.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...