adamchin Posted April 18, 2004 Report Share Posted April 18, 2004 Hi, I'm absolutely new here. I'm a bass player who isn't by any means near a well travelled area where many guitar repair guys are. I've got a Michael Tobias MTD 535 with a Wenge neck and Wenge fretboard. The board itself has quite a lot of grooves/small slotts in it and as a result, my skin picks up and gathers in those grooves, thus making the bass look like it's got dandruff after a short while of play. I've discussed via email with Michael about what to do about this, and there were a few options. Epoxy to fill and finish, or some wood filler. Since I've decided to take on this project myself, I'm curious if anyone has done something like this.. And what to watch out for. Michael recommended using 1 hour drying epoxy, and not the 5 minute stuff. I'd continue to call him but I don't want to bug him too much. Here are the steps I think i should take, and maybe someout there can tweak my steps? This is a fretted neck, and I'm hoping to do the job without removing them 1) clean the neck 2) Tape off the frets 3) Apply the Epoxy evenly (filling the grooves, and leveling 4) Let dry (1-2 hours) 5) Begin the gradual sanding (all the way to fine grains) 6) Get down to where it's smooth and clear - Buff to lusture 7) remove tape from frets 8) Smooth off or file off any epoxy that got on any frets. Is this all correct, close? or am I walking into a big head ache project? Thanks for your input, or suggestions! Adam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vladdrac Posted April 18, 2004 Report Share Posted April 18, 2004 Hi, and welcome.. If i understand correctly the only problem i see is the diferent color..couse this is in the fretboard, right?..so you have to use some wood filler that can match the color of the wood , or are you planing to paint the fretboard or any other of finish..if you use epoxi you can´t dye it.. cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamchin Posted April 19, 2004 Author Report Share Posted April 19, 2004 Actually, the color of the wenge is very dark and I'm ok with it. A clear coat on top of it w/Epoxy or something durable like it would work. What I'm trying to cure is "stuff" getting into the wenge grooves/slots. Currently, I'm basically having to brush out these grooves at least once a week. Recommendations on method/steps and materials would be greatly appreciated! Adam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mahelcaya Posted April 19, 2004 Report Share Posted April 19, 2004 Hi, I am currently working on a bass guitar, and I have a fingerboard blank of wenge I want to use. I had the same idea of filling it with clear epoxy resin, sand it and then slot it for fretting. I think that it will work fine. I am working on a unfretted fingerboard, that will make the sanding easy with a radiused block. But you should be able to get a good job even if you have the frets seated already, will take longer , but I think it's worth it, good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamchin Posted April 19, 2004 Author Report Share Posted April 19, 2004 I know this is redundant b/c I was just reading other forum messages related to this, but what's the best epoxy to use for my project? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skibum5545 Posted April 19, 2004 Report Share Posted April 19, 2004 If you don't want to tape off the frets, you probably don't have to. After the epoxy dries, you can score the edges of the frets with an x-acto, and chip off the epoxy from there. I know it works with nitro on maple fretboards, so I don't see why it wouldn't work with epoxy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamchin Posted April 19, 2004 Author Report Share Posted April 19, 2004 Great tip! Thanks! I'll obviously be super careful during the application. Any special recommendations on what brand of Epoxy to get? Mr. Tobias mentioned that I should use a 1 hour Epoxy rather than a 5 minute one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skibum5545 Posted April 19, 2004 Report Share Posted April 19, 2004 generally speaking, the longer the cure time, the clearer it dries. If that is true (which I think it is)get the slowest drying one possible. Beyond that, I have never seen any diff between brands. I would say (unless anyone thinks otherwise) go for any brand with a slow cure time. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted April 19, 2004 Report Share Posted April 19, 2004 Epoxy is very thick and sticky and gooey. You've got a task in front of you with it being fretted, I'll say that much. I wouldn't sand until probably 24 hours tho, that's the actual full-cure time. Man, I'm wincing just thinking of doing something like that on a fretted neck... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skibum5545 Posted April 19, 2004 Report Share Posted April 19, 2004 I don't know much about glues, but maybe filling it with some kind of brush on clear might be a better idea. It'd flow better, and probably be easier to do and thus look better. Good point, Drak. Any suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devon Headen Posted April 19, 2004 Report Share Posted April 19, 2004 I don't think brand is very important, but listen to the man, and don't use quick drying stuff, or you'll be in even more of a mess pretty soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devon Headen Posted April 19, 2004 Report Share Posted April 19, 2004 Wow, I was too slow on that one. How would CA work for this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamchin Posted April 19, 2004 Author Report Share Posted April 19, 2004 Everyone, thanks so much for your help! This is a great forum! From what I'm begining to gather, this project could be very tricky. My last email from Mike Tobias said "I would smear a small amount into the grain and use a small bondo spreader like a squeegee to work it into the pores.....I would not want it to build up too thick...I hate sanding. Keep the layers, if any, very thin." Before I go ahead with this, skibum5545 mentioned perhaps using some sort of brush on clear stuff. Any other opinions on that? CA is super glue? My true green is showing here. I have done some work with super glue on a neck ding. And it went smoothly! Especially once I sanded it down. skibum5545, StonesCreed, Drak, and Mahelcaya.... THANKS!!!! Next time I promise to start a thread in the right place... Adam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Primal Posted April 19, 2004 Report Share Posted April 19, 2004 I would recommend using epoxy that you can get at a hobby shop. In my experience in building model rockets (big ones! ) the epoxy that I got from the hobby shop was of higher quality. You should also be able to get it in more varieties. If you can, get ahold of some "finishing epoxy" which is used for filling wood and fiberglassing (soaking fiberglass cloth in epoxy; used to reinforce tubes in model rocketry). Hope this helped. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamchin Posted April 20, 2004 Author Report Share Posted April 20, 2004 Interesting point on hobby shops.. I was just in one today and found some 30 minute epoxy. The guy there mentioned to mix in a bit more of the hardiner, and watch out for bubbles... I'm not going to have that much of a thick finish though. He also said I should consider Fiberglass Resin, found in most Marine supply shops. This sounds like the finishing epoxy you mention. This sounded easier to work with, say brush applied... I've got the 30 minute epoxy, and have the rest of this week to discuss an ponder the best approach. Any thoughts on this Fiberglass Resin? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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