How to finish a maple fretboard

[dbeltrami]

Hi folks,

Looking for advice on the best way to finish a maple fretboard.

I have the Dingo Tone neck finishing kit (clear) and Dingo tone wax.

Should I use the neck finishing kit on the fretboard as well as the neck? Maybe just the wax?

Looking for some advice and experience on the best approach.

Thanks in advance.

[McCreed]

Standard procedure is finishing the fretboard with the same finish material as the back. (eg: lacquer on back, lacquer on fretboard)

I have never used any Dingo Tone products, nor do I use any wax products, but I would strongly advise against applying any wax to unsealed timber like a maple fretboard.

[Bradtb04]

Hi dbeltrami, I used the Dingotone clear neck finish on the fretboard as was advised by Ben at Pitbull. It has worked very well for me. I'm not so sure about the wax, I haven't had any experience with it, however, as McCreed said, I would hesitate before using it as a maple finish.
Hope this helps.
Brad

[rokitrik]

Being in the USA, Dingo products cannot be shipped via air. Do you folks know of other similar finish methods that are applied by hand?

[ross.pearson]

Being in the USA, Dingo products cannot be shipped via air. Do you folks know of other similar finish methods that are applied by hand?

Hi, wipe on poly, wipe on lacquer, or tru-oil will do the trick. I'd suggest whatever you're using to finish your neck, run it over the fretboard at the same time. When you're done you can carefully clean off the frets prior to level and dress.

[rokitrik]

Hi, wipe on poly, wipe on lacquer, or tru-oil will do the trick. I'd suggest whatever you're using to finish your neck, run it over the fretboard at the same time. When you're done you can carefully clean off the frets prior to level and dress.

Thank you for your input, Ross. So, I could finish the entire neck (I want to paint the headstock) with True Oil? That would be awesome since I plan to finish with TO over rattle can opaque acrylic on the guitar body. I also found the following video that looks interesting.

https://youtu.be/GLBw5sBieg4

Maybe we have the Color Tone product here.

[rokitrik]

I also found the following video that looks interesting.

https://youtu.be/GLBw5sBieg4

The video I linked above actually uses wax on the fretboard. Based on what I've read on this thread, it may not be a good idea!

[Simon Barden]

They've put TruOil on the fretboard first. It's not at all clear from the video, but before the wax, he does talk about buffing up to the frets, so he's definitely put TO on the board first.

I'm not a fan of putting wax on top of finishes, though a couple of applications of Carnauba wax is supposed to stop a gloss neck that feels sticky to the hand (a nitro finish trait when it's new) from being being sticky.

[rokitrik]

They've put TruOil on the fretboard first. It's not at all clear from the video, but before the wax, he does talk about buffing up to the frets, so he's definitely put TO on the board first.

I'm not a fan of putting wax on top of finishes, though a couple of applications of Carnauba wax is supposed to stop a gloss neck that feels sticky to the hand (a nitro finish trait when it's new) from being being sticky.

He uses a different product to stain the fretboard and prep before wax. I agree with you and others here, the wax is not necessary. In the video, the tech makes that point too. I'm going to avoid using wax on my fretboard. Cheers!

[ross.pearson]

I wouldn't use a paste wax or furniture wax, but a microcrystalline wax might be okay. Otherwise yeah, I'm with you, I don't think I'd do it either.