Official Luthiers Forum!

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

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From Nacogdoches...the oldest town in Texas.

http://www.stephenkinnaird.com

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
Padma

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Audiences and dispensations on Thursdays ~ by appointment only.


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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

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Dan
http://www.acme-archtops.com

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.

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Mike

The only thing nescessary for evil to thrive is for good men to do nothing.

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.

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Old growth, shmold growth!

Hmmm...yes...no...do I hear a "maybe" in the crowd?
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

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From Nacogdoches...the oldest town in Texas.

http://www.stephenkinnaird.com

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.

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I read Emerson on the can. A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds...true...but a consistent reading of Emerson has its uses nevertheless.

StuMusic

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.

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John Thiessen
http://www.iszacguitars.com

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

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From Nacogdoches...the oldest town in Texas.

http://www.stephenkinnaird.com

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.



No....but this one suits me.

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I read Emerson on the can. A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds...true...but a consistent reading of Emerson has its uses nevertheless.

StuMusic

Again, many thanks for the info!
I'll post some pics when it's all finished.

Steve

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From Nacogdoches...the oldest town in Texas.

http://www.stephenkinnaird.com

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

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From Nacogdoches...the oldest town in Texas.

http://www.stephenkinnaird.com

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.

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

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http://www.casperguitar.com

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.

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John Thiessen
http://www.iszacguitars.com

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:




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




Closer view:




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




Thanks for looking,

Steve

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From Nacogdoches...the oldest town in Texas.

http://www.stephenkinnaird.com

Steve, that's a beautiful neck. And the quilt on the headstock is sick!

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Mike

The only thing nescessary for evil to thrive is for good men to do nothing.

Thanks Mike!
Hope the headstock doesn't make you too ill.



Steve

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From Nacogdoches...the oldest town in Texas.

http://www.stephenkinnaird.com