Neck and fingerboard finishes

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Randy S. Bretz on July 30, 2012 at 8:40pm

I use Deft laquer [ spray can ] i shoot it over the whole build.

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Permalink Reply by Mark Mowatt-Wilson on July 30, 2012 at 8:50pm

Thanks, I'll check if it's available in Oz

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Permalink Reply by Randy S. Bretz on November 23, 2012 at 9:56am

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Permalink Reply by Ron "Oily" Sprague on November 28, 2012 at 8:55am

Whoa, Randy! Is that a scalloped fretboard, with bone frets, bone rosette, and bone saddle / bridge? Suuuwwweeeet-weeeeet!

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Permalink Reply by Dan Sleep on July 30, 2012 at 9:42pm

I use tung oil all the time. Works good all over the neck and fingerboard.

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Permalink Reply by The Phrygian Kid on July 30, 2012 at 10:09pm

Australian solution, I call it my 'poor mans lacquer'
Go to the $2 shop, get a bunch of super glue, you get a packet of 8 little tubes for $2..
Stock up on it, great for many things
Get an aerosol oil, spray and bake stuff, get the cheapest one you can.
Get cheap latex gloves
And a rag..

Sand to 1200 grit...
Spray a good squirt of oil right over the neck, leave it a few minutes ad rub it down.
Super glue and rub, one tube at a time. Will take about four tubes (a dollar worth) to do the whole neck. Rub rub rub. Don't forget the gloves.
Repeat. It'll drink up substantially less oil the second (and subsequent) coats..
Two coats is more than sufficient tho sometimes I do three.

I usually do it after fretting. Enjoy :)

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Permalink Reply by L.J. on October 28, 2012 at 7:25am

Im confused. Does the superglue soak in with the glue? Or does it create some type of top coat? I normally use Boiled linseed oil alone. Or I use flooring urethane( rubbed in). I saw the neck you made for Dewy. Really nice job. Was that one done with superglue?

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Permalink Reply by Jim Woods on July 31, 2012 at 12:14am

after trying tung oil and then minwax polyurethane,   I now use Danish oil - it dries to a harder finish & holds uo to handling better.  My 2 cents.

I do the finish after cutting the frets , before hammering them in.  Then touch up the edges from finishing frets.

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Permalink Reply by Sharecropper (Joel) on July 31, 2012 at 7:31am

  I use tung oil , although I will try danish oil since Jim Woods says it gives a harder finish .  Oils are easy to apply and give the the fingerboard a near frictionless finish compared to the polyurathane I used to use.  I apply oil after fretting .

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Permalink Reply by The Phrygian Kid on July 31, 2012 at 7:48am

FYI 'Danish oil'is a mixture of boiled linseed oil, thinners and a lacquer, it is not 'oil'. Tung oil will set equally hard, but it much more work, requiring many coats and several days curing between and sanding between each coat too and more maintenance. The 'poor mans lacquer' recipe I put up there is not all that dissimilar to Danish oil, just a real cheap alternative. See this http://www.popularwoodworking.com/techniques/finishing/oil-finishes... I do really like tung oil, but I don't use it for the final finish on guitar necks because it takes too long and I just wnna play it. I sometimes do a coat early on cos it brings out a real warmth in the colours

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Permalink Reply by Jim Woods on July 31, 2012 at 5:09pm

The Auzzie finish is intriguing.  I get an image of me trying to explain to my wife how I glued a guitar to my hands :-)

My biggest problem with tung oil was patience.  Like you I could not wait days to play the new git & it would become a gummy mess. 

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Permalink Reply by The Phrygian Kid on August 2, 2012 at 10:54pm

Yeah when I first used the stuff I didn't leave it cure nearly long enuff, and I played I right off the neck so all I had was the colour no nice smooth waxy finish. I like it but it is pretty expensive, I build mine on a real tight budget.

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