Outta my depth! seeking help on fretboard finish...

Hello all, seeking wisdom...
I am determined that we (me, my husband and 8YO daughter) finish last years Christmas present before the fat-man turns up in 2025! I am almost complete with the sanding, sanding, sanding and painting but I have question about the fret board finish....

The creative director wanted metallic blue so it is solid painted, so I've sourced some automotive paints, (mtn Montana Colours Pro) it's taking a bit to get a nice finish but we are almost there.Question is:
Do I use the same clear acrylic varnish on the Rosewood fretboard? or is there a better way to finish it in this case?

Apologies if this is in the FAQ, I could not get the page to load and I could not find this in any reading material or videos.

Please be gentle and excuse my ignorance - I am not in the least musically inclined - this was my gift to my musical and engineering inclined husband & daughter, which somehow I have been the only one doing the hard graft on so far.... I am almost ready to hand off to the assembly team... I think.
Many thanks in advance!

Attachment 45903

Photo showing paint products used FYI

Hi and welcome Cat-astrophic. The body and neck look great! Love the dragon.

As for the rosewood fretboard - most folks would use a fretboard oil, eg lemon oil for rosewood fretboards (or any dark wood fretboards). Just wipe in on with a old bit of cloth. It may need a few coats at first, and then a fresh coat every year or so. These oils can be purchased from most guitar/music stores.

(Maple fretboards are often finished with the same type of clear varnish used for the rest of the neck!)

As for pages not loading, the site seems to be a bit problematic today!!

Amazing, huge thanks Trevor!

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Originally Posted by Cat-astrophic

...Do I use the same clear acrylic varnish on the Rosewood fretboard? or is there a better way to finish it in this case?...

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+1 on the cool dragon. You've done an amazing job! What did you do it with?

+1 on the fretboard oil. I do it exactly the way TD suggests. I use block oil, which is essentially the same as fretboard oil but more readily available in big box stores. A guitarist friend gave me a pint of it, which is turning out to be a lifetime supply. That is the way almost everyone does it...

That said, there are people (and mfgs) that use the same sort of clear coat on the fretboard that you used on the body. Rickenbacker, for example tends to finish their rosewood board with clear.

Most makers like a very hard, protective clear on the body and the back of the neck. This stabilizes the wood and makes it less prone to expand and contract. Technically that same logic could apply to the fingerboard, but I am guessing that the folks who put clear on fingerboards mostly do it so that they can buff it up to be shiny. As a practical matter I think the main reasons not to use a clear coat on the fretboard is that anywhere the strings make contact, it will eventually wear off. That's why old maple fingerboards generally look dirty. The block oil is not as tough, but makes up for it by being easy to re-apply and avoiding wear-through.

(more than you wanted to know ;-) )

Ah but that is cool to know Fender3x, I can only hope that the after all this we have signs of wear on the fretboard!
Sounds like there is not a wrong way as such, but I like the idea of an oil to enhance the natural beauty of the rosewood and have nicer feel. Guitars are such a tactile thing right? I also like the idea of a matt contrast to the glitter-metallic body.

I used acrylic paint pens to do the tattoo-style water dragon (as per the 8YO creative directors requests) Posco brand - Did have to go over twice to get good opacity, so you need to be a pretty steady freehand drawer to pull it off. It's not perfect up close but she is delighted, so that is what matters.

I highly regret using a spray varnish though. (Thought I'd play safe by using the same paint product range.) Got a lot of cloudiness which I could not 100% fix. Such a shame because the metallic paint colour was divine, if there is a next time I will definitely stick with a good brushed on varnish and high quality brush.

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Originally Posted by Cat-astrophic

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I highly regret using a spray varnish though. (Thought I'd play safe by using the same paint product range.) Got a lot of cloudiness which I could not 100% fix. Such a shame because the metallic paint colour was divine, if there is a next time I will definitely stick with a good brushed on varnish and high quality brush.

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I have found that spray paint can be quite temperamental! It wants a certain temperature and low humidity! On my first rattle-can spray attempt I definitely had cloudiness, due to high humidity and cool weather. It is worth practicing and perfecting as spraying can give great results.

I think all finishing techniques (spraying, brushing, wiping) have their advantages and disadvantages. There can also be compatibility issues between the different finish layers and different brands of finish. So many things to consider. Playing it safe is a good option.

I have also had bad luck with spray on varnish, although I have only used rattle cans. Cloudiness as well as never really hardening. It's humid here and that creates problems. I have had the best luck with rattle cans with MTN94. It's acrylic and no metal flakes, but I experimented a bit with the one you used, and have found all their paints to be of very high quality and forgiving to apply. The exception for me was the spray on varnish. I found it harder to use, and the VOCs meant my wife (an environmental engineer) would not allow it to cure indoors.

I have mostly used water based clear coats. TD usually sprays be he uses some Australian products that seem to do very well. I have had best luck so far with Brite Tone brushed on with a gold Taclon brush. It's not a 100% success, since I still get runs, but mostly they have been fixable. The good part about the water based finishes, at least for me, is that they are low enough VOC that I can use them indoors which is a bit more climate and insect controlled. I don't know why the bugs love varnish, but they do!

A lot of folks use Tru Oil wiped on, particularly for necks. I have experimented with it a bit and found it goes over most spray paints fine, although that's not something the mfg recommends...and I have just experimented on scrap so I don't know how it does over time.

It would be nice to find a water based, low VOC, clear that levels like an oil based finish...but so far I just keep working on my brush technique. The Crystalac people who make Brite Tone assure me that once I get my coats thin enough I won't have runs or brush strokes. We'll see ;-)

The dragon is spectacular, and we generally use a "three foot" distance rule for viewing. Any guitar that gets used is going to have some blemishes anyway, and my daughter likes to remind me that small flaws serve to remind you that it was made by hand ;-)

Yep we are in a very humid part of the world Trevor & Fender3x, so I expect that is a big part of it.
Fender3x - I am 100% with your wife on VOC's, my mother (a career artist) has destroyed her lungs with spray varnish among other things. Outdoors (or in a well ventilated workshop) and with full PPE all the way! And thin coats... growing up on the floor of my mother's studio, I may have mastered the techniques but never the patience to really pull it off... Thank heavens for the 3 foot rule ;)

Many thanks to you both for all the awesome advice, Merry Christmas and I hope the fat-man is kind to you and yours.
Cat

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Originally Posted by Cat-astrophic

...I may have mastered the techniques but never the patience to really pull it off... Thank heavens for the 3 foot rule ;)...

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You have clearly identified a part of the problem with my brush technique. Patience is really hard! The great thing about the 3 foot rule is that hardly anyone gets closer than that.

One of the saving graces of the water based finishes I have used is that they are a bit less prone to trap water. Maybe because they are designed to gas-off water. I have actually had raindrops fall on freshly sprayed MTN94 with now appreciable problem. The clears I have used have been pretty good in humidity, and in Miami it's still 50% indoors with the AC on ;-)

You have to wait a relatively long time before water based clears are ready for finish sanding and polishing...but that gives me quite a bit of time with my trusty razor blade to slowly and carefully flatten the runs ;-)

Once you've done the hand-off I hope you'll encourage the assembly team to continue posting. Will be curious to see the finished product.

Happy holidays!