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I'm getting ready to have a maple FB Strat-type neck finished and wanted to know in advance what to specify and expect. While I realize that a Maple FB is typically sprayed and finished, I was interested in knowing how best to remove the finish from the frets following the finishing operation.

Any advice would be appreciated...TIA

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JJ
Napa, CA
http://www.DonohueGuitars.com

JJ, some folk scrape them clean with a notched nail head. Others leave the finish.

I decided to leave mine on the neck I did recently. Three coats of Nitro Sanding Sealer, three coats of Nitro, sanded lightly after the sealer of course. Looks great.

I was expecting the nitro to crawl off the metal frets somewhat and it may have to a degree. It looks much like other necks I've seen, so I'm betting many doing maple necks leave it on the frets.

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http://www.dickeyguitars.com

Thanks Bruce...a few questions:
1) Did you require no fret leveling or dressing once the neck was attached?

2) If not then have you played the guitar yet and if so it would seem to me that fretting alone might loosen finish and flake it off. I'm not so sure that would look so pretty. What effect did playing have?

I was wondering if there might be some way to mask off the fretwire prior to spraying or is the only recourse to remove the finish afterwards. While I'm prepared to remove the finish with a crowing file, I'd also be interested in knowing how to remove the finish from the sides.

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JJ
Napa, CA
http://www.DonohueGuitars.com

Tape off the wood between the frets (NO wood showing!), get yo bad self a Q-tip and some auto wax, apply a thin but uniform layer to the frets, remove the tape and spray away. Be careful to avoid getting any wax on the wood.

After it's cured, CAREFULLY score the finish on either side of the frets with an exacto knife, cutting into the corner where the fret meets the wood (holding the blade a shade more horizontal than vertical). The lacquer (or poly or whatever) will flake right off.

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The member formerly known as erikbojerik....

Thanks, Eric. This sounds like a worthwhile effort. I just might give it a try.

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JJ
Napa, CA
http://www.DonohueGuitars.com

JJ, You put wax anywhere near that neck and you are banned from my shop for one full year!!

This practice might work for some but it's just not worth the risk of surface contamination to get any wax, oil, dressings, petroleum distillants etc anywhere near the surface to be finished.

Oh Mario? Mario?

He'll be along in a moment and will join with me in our hex and voodoo against anything and everything wax!

Sounds like a great tip Erik, all except for the wax part. Scares me.

OK, OK Joe...I hear you. I guess that grooved nail trick looks better all the time!

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JJ
Napa, CA
http://www.DonohueGuitars.com

Shucks JJ,
I figured by this time, all your questions would be answered.

Best I can tell, you do your fretwork before spraying.

I plan on using my little Turner Fret Levellers as needed, but no removal of finish from the frets otherwise.

This is a great question and worth hearing from some of the Maple Neck electric guys. We're all ears.

JJ, my thinking was the lacquered in frets look really good, and conversely, in my mind, I thought a scraped up bunch of frets would look pretty crappy. So, I elected nada, for now but reserve the right to change my mind.

Remember, my Tele neck was a copy of another players neck, it was all lacquered in too, by Fender. The owner didn't want to change the worn fretboard look at all, but we did strip the back of the neck to give him the feel he was after, go figure. I can imagine what that will look like in five years.

Hey Look Everyone, it's after three o'clock, time for coffee or tea!

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http://www.dickeyguitars.com

Level/sand the board - install frets - file fret ends - finish sand back/sides of neck - finish neck - buff fret board - mask board - dress frets.

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Eschew obfuscation, espouse elucidation.

I think that the classic Fender maple and Rickenbacker sprayed over frets thing is as lame a system as has ever been done. I don't care that it's now "traditional"; it's still just plain wrong.

For Fender, it comes out of maple 'board Fender necks being throwaways. That was Leo's concept. Needs a refret? Toss it; it's cheaper to just replace it. Leo bought into the whole disposable consumer products bulls..t of the 1950s. He was wrong. He also didn't know the difference between "vibrato" and "tremolo", but that's another whole issue.

Rickenbacker has no such excuse, and that makes them doubly lame. It's clear that nobody at Rickenbacker every had to even do a repair job on one of those beasts, much less ever have to do a refret.

Do the finish first, then put in the frets. It may not look stock, but it looks a lot better.

Dang...I wish I had asked this question 2 weeks ago...that's the most practical advice I've heard all night...unfortunately the frets are already in. I really don't care about tradition or it looking stock since it is nothing like a Strat or Tele.

David...your recommendation appears to be my best option right now...I absolutely don't want to leave any finish on those frrets.

Thanks guys!!!

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JJ
Napa, CA
http://www.DonohueGuitars.com

JJ, I'm with Rick.

I've tried finishing after installing frets and it just sucks. Pain in the arse. It would have been SO much easier to finish first.

If I were you I'd even think about removing the frets, finishing, and putting new ones in.

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Mike

"The Dude abides. I don't know about you but I take comfort in that. It's good knowin' he's out there. The Dude. Takin' 'er easy for all us sinners. Shoosh." The Stranger

JJ, you ran the gamut in just a quick evening of posts.

Throw away guitar necks, ouch. My friend loves his old Japanese Tele Neck. In my attempt to make one like it I copied it down to spraying over the frets. Oh well.

I really would like a close up of how it looks when you are done.

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http://www.dickeyguitars.com

It all depends on your point of view. For serviceability, fretting after finishing would probably be much better though any finished neck just plan sucks for refretting. Finished before or after you still have potential for scratches and chips from pulling frets, and can't just level a board during a refret without the hassle of finish work. This is where I agree with Rick that Rickenbackers are the worst - not only can I not see a reason to justify finishing a rosewood board, but they seem to pour a good .010"-.020" of lacquer on there to fill in between the frets.

For production though, fretting before finishing has to be more efficient. No cleaning lacquer out of slots, no risk of chipping at the ends or on the top it you press or hammer too hard, no filing the ends and risk going through the finish - a good builder can certainly get around these pre-finished obstacles with a bit of care, but for production at any large scale I think pre-fretting is much lower risk.

And whether it's by conditioning or not, I think the finish-over-frets gives a very clean and appealing look to the ends and sides of the frets. A clear finish of any thickness and it could be a challenge to make the bottom of the fret look tight against the board. Of course the finish at the ends will crack out on a pre-fretted, and it's a pain to refret, but it looks good on the showroom floor.

I know this goes against about every other philosophy I have about importance of serviceability in design, but what can I say. I hate them when they come in for a refret, but for some twisted reason there's just something about the Fender-style maple board that I like.

I think it would depend largely on the finish you're using. Using a thin satin oil or varnish, and I would agree that fretting after finishing may be easier. A standard gloss lacquer maple board though, and I think the initial fretting and finishing is about as simple as it gets.

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Eschew obfuscation, espouse elucidation.

Is it too late to go with a rosewood fretboard?

I should have said "as simple as it gets - if you actually want a gloss finished board". Personally, I don't see myself doing anything like this in the foreseeable future. Rosewood, ebony, unfinished or lightly sealed with no build. Maybe even maple with a Waterlox sealer. Those I would certainly fret after sealing. Gloss maple boards though, I just don't personally have any ambition to make any to begin with.

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Eschew obfuscation, espouse elucidation.

With CNC technology, you could cut fret slots in a finished maple 'board after doing the finish and rubout. You could even do closed end slots so as not to have an fill issues. Piece of cake... Ultra clean look... I'll have to do one...

As an update...the finish will be a catalyzed polyester satin finish on the neck and glossy elsewhere. Joe White will be doing the finish on both electrics that I'm building.

Mike...For the reasons David stated, I don't feel comfortable removing the frets and finishing first. This is a bound FB and some of those fret ends required a bit of coaxing with CA to stay down. I fear that removing them now might have some dreaded unintended consequences.

Anthony...The guitar was originally designed for a BRW FB until Frank (my oldest son) insisted that maple would be cooler. Since 18 year olds know infinitely more than their Dads it was a debate better avoided...he also plays a lot better than most of us and seems to be able to justify his preferences. Unfortunately, I treated more him like a client instead of kicking his ass like I should have!

Bruce...I'll be sure to post pics once it's completed. I plan to use the shaped scraper fashioned from a nail head that you and others described. I'm not yet sure how close to the board I'll be going but plan to err on the side of avoiding any FB chipout.

David...Thanks for the feedback. Your experience and pragmatic advice have always steered me in the right direction.

Rick...Good luck on the CNC protocol you described. If you plan to make a lot of them, you just might have a winner. In my case, I can see me never making another maple FB...but I reserve the right to change my mind depending on future mood swings!

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JJ
Napa, CA
http://www.DonohueGuitars.com

Level, crown & polish after rubbing out the finish. Ignore all contrary instructions.

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Howard Klepper
http://www.klepperguitars.com

When all else fails, clean the shop.

Done it both ways over and under the frets.

"Traditional" Fender way is easy , spray, sand, level, buff out.

Refined version ,dress fret ends,spray,sand ,mask fretboard, use thin foam pad to remove laquer from fret sides ,dress ,buff out.

Hope this helps.

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How long is that in luthyears?