PDA

View Full Version : Neck finishing for maple neck with rosewood fretboard



Raven
08-06-2018, 12:23 PM
Looking for advice on how to finish a rosewood fretboarded maple neck and deal with a mishap that has already occurred.

I'm gathering from another thread that recommended practice is to put wax rather than neck finish on fretboards. Can someone please confirm this.

While applying DT clear neck stain base coat to my maple neck I accidentally got a bit of it on the rosewood fretboard face (and edges) in a couple of places and those places are consequently darker than the rest. Not sure what to do next...
Is there a way to get this off ? Alternatively, should I apply the base coat to the rest of the fretboard to get a consistent appearance ?

blinddrew
08-06-2018, 04:29 PM
Might be worth popping a couple of photos up showing the affected and non-affected areas so the experts can tell what they're dealing with.

Simon Barden
08-06-2018, 04:47 PM
It's not 'normal' for rosewood (or ebony) boards to have any finish on them at all. Some lemon oil from time to time to keep them from drying out, but normally that's it. That's not to say you can't put a finish on a rosewood board. Rickenbacker famously gloss their rosewood boards, but it's not necessary. Maple boards need something on them to stop them oxidising and turning grey with use and with acidic oil and sweat from your fingers, but rosewood and ebony don't suffer in the same way. They can still get dirty, so should be cleaned from time to time - scraping for heavy build ups followed by naptha or lemon oil to get the dirt off. Some people here like to use a clear wax to feed a rosewood board and give it a smoother feel. It's all personal preference.

I'd see if something like naptha (liquid lighter fuel) will clean off the DT on the board. Don't forget to mask off the rest off the neck as you don't want to ruin its finish. If naptha doesn't do it, I'm not quite sure what will. You'll need to let it soak in a bit then rub teh area with a clean cloth - though as it quickly evaporates you'll need to keep adding a bit more. It's very flammable stuff, so don't use it near a flame and best done outside in the shade.

Any liquid (like lemon oil) or wax will make the wood appear darker, so if there's any of the DT remaining, you could lemon oil the board, or use the plain DT wax that PBG sell on the board, which should get the board looking as dark as any areas with some DT finish still on.

WeirdBits
08-06-2018, 07:23 PM
I've used small amounts of pure acetone to remove fresh DT stain colour from maple, not sure how well it would work on cured neck base coat on rosewood. If not, scrape/sand and then oil to darken the board as Simon suggests would be my path.

wazkelly
08-06-2018, 09:37 PM
Need to make sure it is in fact rosewood and not the new age pretend stuff as that doesn't seem to be much good to work with.

One coat of DT top coat wouldn't do too much to take away from the original state and probably just make the board look permanently oiled? Only beef I have with rosewood is the regular oiling or waxing to prevent it drying out and hence why I prefer lacquered maple plus also prefer the way that feels and sounds too.

Simon Barden
08-06-2018, 10:44 PM
It's all part of the fun of owning a guitar, Waz, though in the UK they probably last a bit longer between the need for oiling.

wazkelly
09-06-2018, 04:49 AM
True as with the heat & humidity we get in these parts they do look thirsty not long after giving them a thorough lemon oil saturation.

Sent from my SM-A520F using Tapatalk

Raven
25-06-2018, 03:26 PM
Thanks to all who responded.
For the benefit of anyone else looking for an answer I did have success with Acetone. All looks good and no adverse consequences.