Fretboard finish?

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Presto
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Fretboard finish?

Post by Presto » Mon Aug 01, 2011 10:41 pm

Hi Guys, any thoughts on finish/ no finish for a Jarrah fretboard for a bass guitar?

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Daniel_M
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Re: Fretboard finish?

Post by Daniel_M » Mon Aug 01, 2011 10:44 pm

Hi Presto,
The tele that I made with a jarrah board I left it unfinished and then used a little bore oil to stop it drying out. No issues with it so far.

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Tod Gilding
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Re: Fretboard finish?

Post by Tod Gilding » Tue Aug 02, 2011 11:14 am

Hi Presto,
I'm not one of the guru's at this forum,but I have had very pleasing results with Howards orange tung oil,this type of finish is easily repaired if need be and is a finish in the wood not on the wood. I find it perfect for fretboards.

Tod
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pavliku
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Re: Fretboard finish?

Post by pavliku » Tue Aug 02, 2011 12:18 pm

I have also used Tung oil on a Jarrah fretboard. The guitar is still unfinished so I can't tell you how durable it is - looks good though. Tung oil is meant to be one of the hardest drying oils.
Paul

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Gizmo
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Re: Fretboard finish?

Post by Gizmo » Tue Aug 02, 2011 12:24 pm

Ahoy Presto

I bought a little bottle of Almond Oil years ago for my woodwinds and I just use that on the fretboards of my basses and ukes. I think I got it from a pharmacy.

When I change strings, which isn't often, I wipe a bit on and leave for a minute, wipe off. You don't need much and it's not sticky. When I worked as a gilder we used almond oil to preserve old boxwood ornament moulds.
Fast is fine, but accuracy is everything. - Wyatt Earp
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Presto
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Re: Fretboard finish?

Post by Presto » Tue Aug 02, 2011 9:30 pm

Hey thanks guys, I will look into the Tung oil! Any ideas where to get it?

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Allen
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Re: Fretboard finish?

Post by Allen » Wed Aug 03, 2011 5:59 am

I use a hard furniture wax on my fret boards.

You can get tung oil at Bunnings in the floor finishing area. There will be a couple of brands on the shelf usually. I've got one by Timbermate. A can of it is going to last you a lifetime for fret boards. It also makes a nice finish on other wood work projects.
Allen R. McFarlen
https://www.brguitars.com
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Luke
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Re: Fretboard finish?

Post by Luke » Wed Aug 03, 2011 10:10 am

I am currently building a fret-less bass and also wondering what would be the way to treat the fret board.
The bass is will have an acoustic tone (hopefully) as it is an experimental Frankenstein build it will use round wound Phos/bronze strings the fret board is Indian rosewood. On fretted boards I usually just use 100% lemon oil not sure what to do on a fret-less re wear from strings. Any Thoughts?
Cheers Luke

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Gizmo
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Re: Fretboard finish?

Post by Gizmo » Wed Aug 03, 2011 12:00 pm

Luke, I don't know of any finish that will stop roundwounds gouging a fretless board.
If you're looking for acoustic tone try D'Addario ECB80 Chromes. I use these super light gauge flatwounds on my Fender Jazz, they are the closest to double bass tone I have ever had on an electric bass. The tone is different because the light gauge needs less tension to tune to pitch, which means less pressure on the board as well.
Fast is fine, but accuracy is everything. - Wyatt Earp
http://www.cutsetter.com.au

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kiwigeo
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Re: Fretboard finish?

Post by kiwigeo » Wed Aug 03, 2011 4:43 pm

Jaco slapped a coat of boat epoxy on the fretboard after he'd ripped out the frets from his Fender Jazz.....worked for him.
Martin

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Gizmo
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Re: Fretboard finish?

Post by Gizmo » Wed Aug 03, 2011 5:32 pm

I didn't know that. Looked it up and found this...
Quote from January 2006 Bass Guitar Magazine that featured Jaco:

"...Jaco's sound was in part the product of Rotosound roundwound strings gnawing their way into his epoxy-coated fingerboard."
Ouch. Maybe a hypotheoretical replacable disposable fingerboard is what's needed. :?
Fast is fine, but accuracy is everything. - Wyatt Earp
http://www.cutsetter.com.au

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P Bill
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Re: Fretboard finish?

Post by P Bill » Fri Aug 05, 2011 9:17 am

Gizmo "The Replaceable Fingerboard Membrane" for roundwound / fretless lovers could be a new product to add. :?:
"Were you drying your nails or waving me good bye?" Tom Waits

Bill

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