Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Wichita Sam on January 15, 2010 at 7:38am

spray on poly...clear

Permalink Reply by RL Mott on January 15, 2010 at 8:11am

If you want a "finish" on it , and it's already fretted ( frets installed) , "what Sam said" , and then you can use a "synthetic steel wool " pad to clean off the frets with a piece of old credit card with a slot cut in it to protect the board .
Another method is "wipe-on" poly . Thin it about 30% and wipe it on with 1/3 of a paper towel folded into a square . No overspray , no brushmarks , and you can stay off the fret tops .

For another finish type , there are hundreds of oils/potions with "special ingredients" out there with exotic names and claims , but a bottle of regular old mineral oil from the drugstore or Old English lemon oil (probably mineral oil w/lemon scent added) will let your wallet buy a LOT of strings & things before it's gone . You won't be able to tell your buddies you use " Fava Bean elixir " or Magnolia extract , but ......

On steel wool ....... it rusts , it's magnetic , and can leave flecks in the wood that turn black with tannic acid .......
Bronze wool (from a Marine Supply joint) doesn't , and neither do the synthetic pads . Either one of 'em washes out with mineral spirits .

Permalink Reply by Dave Breault on January 15, 2010 at 8:27am

I'm thinking the oil finish would be best here, I like the credit card idea for protecting the wood though. If I use the lemon oil I would have a lemony fresh scent on my fingers after playing, what a treat.

RL Mott said:

If you want a "finish" on it , and it's already fretted ( frets installed) , "what Sam said" , and then you can use a "synthetic steel wool " pad to clean off the frets with a piece of old credit card with a slot cut in it to protect the board .
Another method is "wipe-on" poly . Thin it about 30% and wipe it on with 1/3 of a paper towel folded into a square . No overspray , no brushmarks , and you can stay off the fret tops .

For another finish type , there are hundreds of oils/potions with "special ingredients" out there with exotic names and claims , but a bottle of regular old mineral oil from the drugstore or Old English lemon oil (probably mineral oil w/lemon scent added) will let your wallet buy a LOT of strings & things before it's gone . You won't be able to tell your buddies you use " Fava Bean elixir " or Magnolia extract , but ......

On steel wool ....... it rusts , it's magnetic , and can leave flecks in the wood that turn black with tannic acid .......
Bronze wool (from a Marine Supply joint) doesn't , and neither do the synthetic pads . Either one of 'em washes out with mineral spirits .

Permalink Reply by chris ekelman on January 15, 2010 at 12:09pm

Lemon oil. Put's a nice shine on it.

Permalink Reply by Roger Martin on January 16, 2010 at 5:14pm

One important thing to consider, its customary to use SOMEBODY ELSE'S credit card when doing such work,,,,,,,,,,,.

Permalink Reply by Dave Breault on January 17, 2010 at 1:33am

naturally

Roger Martin said:

One important thing to consider, its customary to use SOMEBODY ELSE'S credit card when doing such work,,,,,,,,,,,.

Permalink Reply by Mama Mojo on January 17, 2010 at 7:19pm

Well, first, I agree with the spray on Poly, but re the lemon oil, I use a lemon oil spray that I picked up at Guitar Center to clean all of my fret boards on my (expensive) guitars and it can sure spruce up a dry, beat-up fingerboard in no time. You just have to be careful not to over do it so the frets don't get too saturated and lift or separate. It should look fine on a new fret board, and the lemon oil smell doesn't last very long. It soaks in and if you wipe it with a cloth to remove the excess, it works just fine.... I've brought back some really dry boards with this stuff before.....