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Oil a maple board?
http://w-ww.luthiersforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10123&t=28601		 Page 1 of 1
Author:  Steve Kinnaird [ Fri Aug 13, 2010 1:17 pm ]
Post subject:  Oil a maple board?
Hi guys, first foray into the electric side of the OLF, so please forgive me if this Q. has been discussed a bazillion times.
I'm making a Tele w/ a heavily figured birdseye fretboard.
Will TruOil be a hard enough finish for the fretboard?
The neck itself will be oiled...just wonderin' bout the board.

TIA,

Steve
Author:  the Padma [ Fri Aug 13, 2010 2:12 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Oil a maple board?
Oil is really nice finish on maple.

However oiled maple, after a short time starts to look real dirty from the sweat, grease and grim of our hands and from where the strings will touch the fret board. You may wanna try any of the many other finishes for the neck or just leave the back of the neck and fret board unfinished as is common in the violin family of necks.


blessings
duh Padma
Author:  DYeager [ Fri Aug 13, 2010 4:49 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Oil a maple board?
Sorry, but oil on maple, uh, uh, no good.

A dirty yellowish look, that will get dirtier-looking with time is the effect I've seen.

The Dan
Author:  Mike Baker [ Fri Aug 13, 2010 5:59 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Oil a maple board?
I'd recommend lacquer(nitro or waterborne) or poly. You really need a hard, durable finish that'll stand up to wear over the long haul, at least on a maple fingerboard.
Author:  theguitarwhisperer [ Fri Aug 13, 2010 7:10 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Oil a maple board?
Tru Oil is a gun stock oil that dries pretty darn hard, unlike tung or linseed oil treatments, which get grungy and dirty looking over time on maple. I've done quite a few maple necks, as well as bodies, with it and seems to endure nicely, just make sure you use tall enough frets that your fingers don't rub on the fretboard while you are playing. However I don't think it has quite the beauty or depth, or longevity, that a good lacquer finish nicely done would impart, especially with birdseye.
Author:  Steve Kinnaird [ Fri Aug 13, 2010 9:36 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Oil a maple board?
Hmmm...yes...no...do I hear a "maybe" in the crowd? :lol:
Ok, so say I lacquer up the board.
I've seen Fenders w/ lacquer over the frets. And seen 'em w/ the lacquer up to the fret, but not over. I know what makes sense from a wear & tear vantage point, but actually doing that pretty polish around the frets seems a bit daunting.
Do youse guys recommend lacquering up the board before fretting?

I really appreciate the answers, and certainly continue to weigh in as much as you'd like. Me and Ross Perot--we're all ears.

Steve
Author:  Stuart Gort [ Sat Aug 14, 2010 12:09 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Oil a maple board?
I get very good results with both Tru-Oil and Minwax wipe-on polyurethane on maple fretboards. Both can be polished to a high luster although the Minwax is crystal clear and the Tru-Oil is slightly yellow.

With both, I finish prior to slotting and fretting.
Author:  Mustang_jt [ Sat Aug 14, 2010 3:38 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Oil a maple board?
I have not used Tru-oil on a maple fretboard, but I have used it on a lot of maple necks. When it starts to look dingy, just clean it with some lemon oil and re-wax it, good as new. You can always re-coat with tru-oil after you clean it as well.
Author:  Steve Kinnaird [ Sat Aug 14, 2010 9:01 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Oil a maple board?
Thanks again, guys...much appreciated.

Stuart, I hadn't thought of the wipe-on Minwax. I used that once to finish a dulcimer, with dubious results, but that was the pores arguing with me. Now a maple fretboard--hmmmm......
Might try that. And by the way, is that YOU in your avatar?

John--so you wax over the TruOil finish? Whole neck or just the fretboard?

Mercy, my curiosity seems boundless.

Steve
Author:  Stuart Gort [ Sat Aug 14, 2010 9:22 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Oil a maple board?
Steve Kinnaird wrote:
I hadn't thought of the wipe-on Minwax. I used that once to finish a dulcimer, with dubious results, but that was the pores arguing with me. Now a maple fretboard--hmmmm......


I like working with Tru-Oil but Minwax gives me a slightly better result. The trick is to use no finer than 220 grit on the raw wood. If you go too fine on the raw wood it will not lay down evenly. Apply the first coat, let dry, then scuff sand and repeat. After 10+ coats you can use green Scotch Brite, then gray......and then polish it out with compound to bring it to a high luster. I let every coat cure overnight but one should be able to do two or three in a day.

Steve Kinnaird wrote:
And by the way, is that YOU in your avatar?


No....but this one suits me.
Author:  Steve Kinnaird [ Sun Aug 15, 2010 6:50 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Oil a maple board?
Again, many thanks for the info!
I'll post some pics when it's all finished.

Steve
Author:  Lars Stahl [ Mon Aug 16, 2010 4:19 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Oil a maple board?
Am I dumb when asking this, but why put any finish on the fretboard ? isn´t the fretboard normally without any finish accept polished nicely ? or is it different with electrics ?
for the neck itself true-oil feels great for the hands when playing and is durable.

Lars.
Author:  Steve Kinnaird [ Mon Aug 16, 2010 10:14 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Oil a maple board?
Lars Stahl wrote:
Am I dumb when asking this, but why put any finish on the fretboard ? isn´t the fretboard normally without any finish accept polished nicely ? or is it different with electrics ?
for the neck itself true-oil feels great for the hands when playing and is durable.

Lars.


Hi Lars, you probably read right over my comment that the fretboard itself is maple. Over time, maple--as you know--would turn nasty looking with finger grudoo.
I'm trying to prevent that with some sort of protection for the wood.
That's all.

Steve
Author:  Ken C [ Tue Aug 17, 2010 8:27 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Oil a maple board?
Hi Steve,

I have a tobacco burst Fender Tele with a maple f/b, American made. Great guitar and one of my favorites to play. Clearly the f/b was lacquered after being fretted. The guitar looked as if the fingerboard was fretted, shot with lacquer, then the frets crowned and polished. Crowning and polishing removed the lacquer from the top of the frets, but sides were still lacquered. I purchased the guitar used about 8 years ago, and the previous owner had purchased it new a couple of years before that. He had hardly played it, so the finish was still as it came from the factory. The lacquer on the frets really annoyed me, so I used a razor blade to clean them up. :D

I would shoot the f/b with something good and hard so that pretty birdseye maple stays clean! Look forward to seeing it when your done.

Ken
Author:  Mustang_jt [ Tue Aug 17, 2010 11:16 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Oil a maple board?
Steve Kinnaird wrote:
Thanks again, guys...much appreciated.

Stuart, I hadn't thought of the wipe-on Minwax. I used that once to finish a dulcimer, with dubious results, but that was the pores arguing with me. Now a maple fretboard--hmmmm......
Might try that. And by the way, is that YOU in your avatar?

John--so you wax over the TruOil finish? Whole neck or just the fretboard?

Mercy, my curiosity seems boundless.

Steve


I have never put wax on a fretboard (haven't done a maple fretboard), but I use Tru-oil and Carnauba wax on maple necks and it works great. The wax makes the slick Tru-oil even slicker. I don't see why it wouldn't work on a fretboard.
Author:  Lars Stahl [ Tue Aug 17, 2010 5:32 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Oil a maple board?
Thanks Steve, I see.
just thinking out loud, would not the laquer tear away real fast after bending the strings etc and then leave some ugly laquer/wood marks all over.
Author:  Steve Kinnaird [ Tue Aug 17, 2010 9:41 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Oil a maple board?
Lars Stahl wrote:
Thanks Steve, I see.
just thinking out loud, would not the laquer tear away real fast after bending the strings etc and then leave some ugly laquer/wood marks all over.


Indeed that does happen. And lots of maple fretboards with worn/gray spots attest to that damage. But the irony is that Fender will do that for you (pre-age a board) and charge big bucks.
Go figure. They probably laugh all the way to their bank.

Thanks again for the replies, gentlemen... as needed as welcomed.

So here's a few shots to see what I'm up to:

First up, the rear of the neck. It's a nice piece of cherry, sporting a slow rolling curl, with its first coat of oil:

Attachment:
Neck9 Sm.jpg



Here's the board I'm trying to protect--it has it's first coat of sealer on it:

Attachment:
Neck10 Sm.jpg



Closer view:

Attachment:
Neck11 Sm.jpg



And the head, quilted maple, which will also be lacquered:

Attachment:
Neck12 Sm.jpg



Thanks for looking,

Steve
Author:  Mike Baker [ Tue Aug 17, 2010 10:34 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Oil a maple board?
Steve, that's a beautiful neck. And the quilt on the headstock is sick!
Author:  Steve Kinnaird [ Wed Aug 18, 2010 12:13 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Oil a maple board?
Thanks Mike!
Hope the headstock doesn't make you too ill. [xx(]

:)

Steve
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