Not an an expert, but did refinish my maple board with wipe-on polyurethane. Yes, I do play flats, but it has held up with nary a scratch for many years now. And still going...
(Although a poly finish on a rosewood board may be... needless?)
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Defretting ?
- Thread starter 20one
- Start date
Not an an expert, but did refinish my maple board with wipe-on polyurethane. Yes, I do play flats, but it has held up with nary a scratch for many years now. And still going...
(Although a poly finish on a rosewood board may be... needless?)
Thanks for the tips guys! I think I'll leave it like this now and will go for flats for now.
With this one still sitting on the workbench, I'm already thinking for another refreting job. It's getting as another hobby I reckon. For the next project I'm gonna use poly (just to utilize the spray can I already have).
For the frets, I'm thinking of taking a slightly different approach for purely esthetical reasons. I'm thinking of filling the frets with veneer the very same way, sanding and levelling perfectly. Then as I want a slightly thicker fret marks I'm gonna spray a ~1mm line over each fret using speciality masking tape designed for making a sharp line - ScotchBlue Sharp Lines 24mm x 55m Multi-Surface Painter’s Masking Tape. I will probably use some kind of a bronze spray paint to make the fret marks stand out. And then seal everything with the poly. Has this ever been tried? Any ideas if that's a good idea?
With this one still sitting on the workbench, I'm already thinking for another refreting job. It's getting as another hobby I reckon. For the next project I'm gonna use poly (just to utilize the spray can I already have).
For the frets, I'm thinking of taking a slightly different approach for purely esthetical reasons. I'm thinking of filling the frets with veneer the very same way, sanding and levelling perfectly. Then as I want a slightly thicker fret marks I'm gonna spray a ~1mm line over each fret using speciality masking tape designed for making a sharp line - ScotchBlue Sharp Lines 24mm x 55m Multi-Surface Painter’s Masking Tape. I will probably use some kind of a bronze spray paint to make the fret marks stand out. And then seal everything with the poly. Has this ever been tried? Any ideas if that's a good idea?
One thing I'll suggest: DON'T put any lemon oil on the board before you spray the poly. I think that could cause poly adhesion problems.
Also with the blue painter's tape, the time to pull that off is when the paint is WET, not after it dries -- the dry paint can flake and leave a fuzzy line.
Also with the blue painter's tape, the time to pull that off is when the paint is WET, not after it dries -- the dry paint can flake and leave a fuzzy line.
I've finished this defret project recently. I used .5 mm plastic sheeting to fill the slots. I finished off the superglue finish with Meguiar's Ultimate Compound on a rotary car polisher. Superglue takes this sort of polishing pretty well. Some areas of the superglue didn't want to cure properly, and instead became grainy with a slight grey discolouration to it.
Another big thanks to everyone who shared information in this thread. I'm going to be doing this to my GSR200 next week. Someone asked a question about leaving their last 1 or 2 frets on to achieve a better slap tone but no one answered. Would this be a good idea?
If you left them as is it would make it impossible to play without very high action (any notes behind the frets would “fret out” on those frets). You could shave those frets down level with the fingerboard and maybe it would help some, but you’d probably be better off cutting a plate of metal that followed the neck radius and sat flush at the end of the fingerboard. Or putting a single flush fret right at the end of the board
Best wishes on your project. I am very pleased with the result of my defret from 4 yrs back, a Takamine acoustic/electric. I needed to experiment back and forth between flats and rounds to get good tone. I am still working on intonation and technique necessary for quality music. I think my success on the remodel surpasses my success as a player. So be it.
I'll most likely coat the fingerboard. I've narrowed it down to Epoxy and CA glue. Tonally, do they sound the same or different? Does coating the fingerboard always result in a brighter tone regardless of what you use? Thanks in advance.
Turnaround
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Any hard coating will cause more brightness. Sonically, CA and Epoxy will be indistinguishable.
Thanks, I already have some of this lying around: Gorilla Epoxy | Gorilla Glue
Do you think it would bring good results?
I’d be wary of using just any epoxy as a surface hardener as it is often designed to retain some flexibility to improve the strength of the material and bond to force/impact (some will even dry with a somewhat “tacky” feel as a result). Some epoxies are designed for hardness and some to retain more flexibility, but Gorilla doesn’t seem to give much detail on its relative hardness when dried. You also have to consider how you are going to apply it and level it (see below).
Super glue also isn’t always the same, as some varieties have added components to add flexibility (usually super glue is not a flexible bonding agent, so it can only withstand limited directional forces- adding some flexible component can make it more resistant to a wider range of force). For use on a fretboard in relatively thin layers the best would probably be the most basic type without additives (the hardest).
Another thing to consider is the ease of application and cleanup between super glue and epoxy- low or medium viscosity super glue is super easy to apply and spread into thin layers to build up and also very easy to clean up with solvents. It hardens pretty quick depending on the product but I think that is ideal for building up many thin layers. Epoxy you will probably want to apply in one go for the best finish, and it can be much harder to keep clean for the cure time (the stronger ones need long cure time), to clean up, or fix mistakes in the process. Using the right epoxy and doing it well should give you a very strong protection and tone and possibly longer wear time than superglue (though it won’t spot repair as easily/cleanly as superglue if/when wear does happen).
Here’s a good thread with lots of experiences from TBers in reference to this topic: Fretless fingerboard coatings
I’ve only had extensive experience with superglue as a fingerboard finish, both applied by myself and on the factory boards of a few basses and I really dig it. I had a factory Carvin with their superglue finish with rounds for many years with barely any sign of wear (granted fretless is not my main thing, but it had also been played by its original owner for 10+ years before I owned it). It also sounded fantastic- capable of plenty of crystal-clear brightness or warmth as wanted.
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Turnaround
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I have no experience with Gorilla Epoxy. The only recommendation I can give is the West System epoxy.
I finished defretting my Ibanez but it has a low spot by the 3rd ''fret'' that causes buzz from string to string. I was planning on coating the fingerboard with CA glue anyways. Would the CA cover the low spots and solve the issue? or should I get rid of the low spot before coating. Thanks in advance.
Depends how low it is. I think CA goes on pretty thin, so it's going to take a lot of coats to fill up up a deep ditch. But balance that against trying to sand down the whole board to meet that one low spot, and it might be worth trying to build it up. I think I would build up the low spot alone first, and sand it level with the rest of the board, then do the whole board CA coating.
I would definitely recommend flattening the board before adding the CA, as the CA will never act like wood when used as a filler and so could cause seasonal buzzing. Have you filled in the fret-slots and planed the board already and still have buzzing?
Thanks a bunch guys 
I ended up sanding the fingerboard a lot more and got rid of the low spot. Sounds great now, the only issue I have to resolve is the higher action due to the nut not being filed down yet. Really appreciate all the help!
I ended up sanding the fingerboard a lot more and got rid of the low spot. Sounds great now, the only issue I have to resolve is the higher action due to the nut not being filed down yet. Really appreciate all the help!
For years I've owned professionaly defretted basses with styrene inlays.
In 2010 I successfully defretted my own bass.
In 2017 I had an unlined ebony fingerboard applied to that sixer.
After four years I've come to a point of decision.
So I am now in the process of again defretting a fretted Tune TWB.
I will inlay wood strips this time.
Using a pair of end nippers with the end ground flush,I gently removed the frets with minimal chipping.
I then made sure the neck was as straight as possible.
Trussrod adjustments were done.
I then superglued in .035 basswood strips and let it set over night.
The next Morning,using the end nippers I trimmed down the strips flush to the surface of the fingerboard.
Using a radius block and some 60 grit sand paper I rough sanded down the inlay stubs and glue ridges.
I then finish sanded with some 150 and some 220.
Topped it off with a coat of Howard's Feed and Wax.
Fully assembled,tuned and tested.
The nut was lowered.
No flat spots!
I will have to lower the pickups and ramp.
The strings bottom out when I play upper register notes.
In 2010 I successfully defretted my own bass.
In 2017 I had an unlined ebony fingerboard applied to that sixer.
After four years I've come to a point of decision.
- I like the sound of rosewood over ebony.
- I like having lines.Especially when playing up in the "Ionosphere"
- I need to "cull the herd"
So I am now in the process of again defretting a fretted Tune TWB.
I will inlay wood strips this time.
Using a pair of end nippers with the end ground flush,I gently removed the frets with minimal chipping.
I then made sure the neck was as straight as possible.
Trussrod adjustments were done.
I then superglued in .035 basswood strips and let it set over night.
The next Morning,using the end nippers I trimmed down the strips flush to the surface of the fingerboard.
Using a radius block and some 60 grit sand paper I rough sanded down the inlay stubs and glue ridges.
I then finish sanded with some 150 and some 220.
Topped it off with a coat of Howard's Feed and Wax.
Fully assembled,tuned and tested.
The nut was lowered.
No flat spots!
I will have to lower the pickups and ramp.
The strings bottom out when I play upper register notes.
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Maple board fretless maintenance question. The wood filler on my seventies Ibanez jazz copy has expanded a little. The bass still plays well but there are some minor intonation issues.
What grit sandpaper would you recommend to preserve the finish of the board and the inlay blocks?
There is a zigzag pattern to the fret lines. I’m not sure whether this means that there were never frets set into it or what. It’s a unique sounding fretless and I want it playing its best.
What grit sandpaper would you recommend to preserve the finish of the board and the inlay blocks?
There is a zigzag pattern to the fret lines. I’m not sure whether this means that there were never frets set into it or what. It’s a unique sounding fretless and I want it playing its best.
The zigzag pattern means this was an aftermarket defret job.
As far as the sandpaper grits I'll leave that to the finishing whizzes we have here.