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Hi all,
I'm looking for some advice on how to finish my maple fretboard and my neck as well. I've read about tru oil and have considered that, but I was hoping to get something similar to a vintage amber colour for it, if there is anything people recommend to use or on how to apply it as well.
Thanks,
Ben
I’m not sure if this is a good or a bad way, but I finished a raw maple fretboard on a squier I had with some cabothane (cabots poly finish) that I thinned down to turn it down to a wipe on poly and put a drop or two of feast Watson prooftint dye/stain. They have heaps of ambers and browns to choose from, so you can get a slightly yellow finish all the way to the Mexican fender classic series level of orange
I have been finishing with water-based poly that has almost no color. I want a bit of yellowing in the next one, and am considering putting a few coats of shellac on first. Will be following this, however to see what advice folks have for you.
Tru Oil will give you a bit of yellowing. Having said that, I'm, sitting here looking at a <1 year old Tru-oiled neck next to my 1980s strat, and there's very big difference! I'm thinking of using a very dilute Feast Watson stain under tru oil for my current build, but am also interested to see what others have done.
Here's my current build. I was thinking of adding a few drops of FW Prooftint to Tru Oil, but everything I read about doing so made it sound like a bad idea. In the end, I have diluted the stain - 2 teaspoons (~10ml) of FW Colour Reducer to 5 drops of FW Golden Teak Prooftint. Here's the headstock after a couple of coats. It's very subtle - I haven't decided whether I'll put any more stain on. I haven't put any TO yet.
Unfortunately I don't have any maple to test this on, and my other test pieces (some ply, for example) didn't really reflect the end result.
Attachment 38694
Why don't you just test it on the back of the headstock?
If for some reason it turns out too dark you can just sand it back.
cheers, Mark.
Yes, good point.Quote:
Originally Posted by king casey
I've got a couple of coats of Tru Oil on mine now - here's how it looks. I'm pleased with the colour - what was a very subtle shade after only the stain has got much deeper with the Tru Oil.
Attachment 38747
How many coats of Tru Oil have you put on? The colour definitely is starting to get deeper, did you add colour to the Tru Oil?
I didn't add any colour to the Tru Oil - this is with the diluted stain on first, and then two coats of TO.
Are you putting the diluted stain and Tru Oil on the fretboard as well?
I am. The stain didn't really seem to take to the fretboard, but the colour's turning out daily even with the Tru Oil. Here's a photo - taken in bright sunlight, so I'm afraid the colours don't look very accurate to me.
Attachment 38754
If the colours are accurate, then it looks like it's developing into a nice colour.
Here in Canada, I just discovered a company that makes a nitro laquer in a neck amber colour, so I'm hoping to try that out on mine, I'm just a little concerned on if the laquer will be difficult to remove from the frets or if I should attempt to carefully tape them
Standard procedure is to spray over the frets (for maple fretboards). This is the same process makers of mass-produced guitars use.Quote:
I'm just a little concerned on if the laquer will be difficult to remove from the frets or if I should attempt to carefully tape them
You are going to need to level and crown the frets anyway (presuming you want the best playability) and the lacquer can be removed in the same process.
I'm sure there are YT vids detailing the ways to accomplish this, so I won't do it here. (plus I'm inadequately caffeinated atm)
Do the fretboard and neck need to be sprayed with sealer or treated with anything before I spray the laquer on it?
The only prep you really need to do with maple is sanding. However I like to do my fret ends before clear coating. That way I don't have any sharp fret ends and don't have to worry about doing them with a newly applied finish.Quote:
Originally Posted by BenWill
Also, after sanding I wipe down the whole neck with naptha before spraying the finish. This just to be sure there are no contaminants (like oil from fingers) that might interfere with adhesion of the lacquer. You don't have to do this, but it's what I do.
Sounds like a good name for a band. :rolleyes:Quote:
Originally Posted by McCreed
I did this with a bass neck, and got fine metal dust on the raw wood that was difficult to clean up. It's another reason I may do a few coats with shellac. The clearcoat I have been using is water based, and I understand there can be issues with rust if I missed any of the dust.Quote:
Originally Posted by McCreed
Is there an approach you used to remove the dust...or did you just do a better job of taping things off than I did? ;-)
Based on my current experience, I wouldn't do anything to the frets until I had at least some clearcoat on. What I did on the only other maple fingerboard is essentially that. I put a very thin coat of clearcoat on, did the fret ends, and then put more clearcoat on.
Stressing here, however, that applying finish is definitely not my strong suit.
Quote:
I did this with a bass neck, and got fine metal dust on the raw wood that was difficult to clean up.
Hmmm, not sure what process you're using to do your fret ends, but I've never encountered any problem with "metal dust".Quote:
Is there an approach you used to remove the dust...or did you just do a better job of taping things off than I did? ;-)
When I talk about "doing the fret ends" I use a proper fret end [dressing] file* and just remove any sharp nibs or edges on just the fret, no filing of the timber. It doesn't generate anything more than maybe a few tiny filings that blow right off. It's not an aggressive action at all. Very smooth and gentle motion that only takes about 10-15 seconds per fret (each end).
The other method I may employ if necessary is a quick run down the edge of the fretboard with my angled file block. This is usually what I use to set the bevel on the fret ends on newly installed frets, but I can alter/control the angle so it just skims the fretboard and frets, making them even with one another. Once again, this generally incurs just a few light passes (in a single direction - not a back & forth sawing action) and even with this method I've not had any issues like you've described.
Also worth noting that all the above I do without any tape on the fretboard.
Don't know if this helps, but I hope you get something out of it.
EDIT:
I just want to clarify that I edited *fret end file* to fret end dressing file. Many people interpret fret end file to mean what is technically a fret end bevelling file as I described in the second paragraph. Sorry for any confusion.
Rust sounds like you used wire wool, as the nickel silver fret dust shouldn’t rust as such, but may go a dull grey (and blow away) If you use wire wool for polishing, then a pass with a strong magnet should pull the steel wool fragments away from the wood, though the fret residue itself is probably non-magnetic. I’ve stopped using wire wool on guitars because of all the fragments it leaves behind, and use either Scotchguard pads or Micromesh instead.
Rubbing the fretboard with Micromesh should clean up any remaining fret particles. Never had an issue with fret dust on a maple board myself.
Actually I haven't had rust. I just worry about it, since I *will* be using a water based finish. Now that you mention it, this is a standard PB neck, and the frets are certainly nickel. Dust was dull gray, and I think I ended up using an eraser on it to get it out.Quote:
Originally Posted by Simon Barden
I just ran a magnet over the frets and was a little startled when it pulled pretty well in the center of the fret, but not too well at the edges....and then suddenly realized the magnet was ignoring the fret, but attracted to the truss rod.
Too soon old, too late smart, as a friend used to say...
Edit: A couple of years ago, I wanted to find out where the truss rod ended. I also just realized that the strong magnet would have answered this. On my PB bass neck it ends under the dot of the 19th fret according to the magnet.
Natural Tru Oil is my go to on a raw Maple neck & fretboard as it has a light amber tint that ages quite rapidly.
If you go for an aged amber tint from the start and then use Tru Oil you may end up quite surprised at how dark it becomes after even 12 months.
I have used the stuff on all 7 builds and the natural finishes are much richer and darker now which was a surprise given that they all live in hard cases and kept out of direct sunlight.
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