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A quick question (I posted this on another forum, and then realized that this might be a good place too...):

I was looking at a relatively new guitar the other day that did not have a bound fretboard (i.e. the frets go all the way to the edge of the fretboard). I noticed that for most of the frets, there had been a very, very slight separation of the poly(?) finish layer on the sides of the fretboard, in a tiny oval, just around each fret end. (I takes just the right angle to even see it.)

It was nothing major - maybe 1/32" or so around the fret ends. The finish hadn't fallen off - it was just separated off the side adjacent to the fret end just enough to give a slightly lighter color. Is this the result of a bit of the swelling/shrinkage that often occurs with humidity changes, where the frets might have pushed the finish layer out as the neck moved, and is it normal? And, is there something that should be done to the guitar if this happens (other than ensuring correct humidity)?

Thanks...

I would have to see the guitar to tell but I suspect that this was cause during some fret end dressing chipping away any finish that was in contact with the tang end as the finish will not actually adhere to the metal. This is an exampl where I think that the tangs should be just short of the fretboard end and the remaining slot filled and sealed prior to finish being finished.

Actually, it looks like the clear finish is adhering pretty well to the fret ends, and to the fretboard in general. Instead, the fret ends are just slightly past the edge of the fretboard, and as a result they sort of pushed out a tiny bit of the clear finish away from the fretboard edge. It seems like a construction technique that almost ensures that this will happen if there is a humidity change or if the fretboard ain't seasoned quite enough?

That's definitely a possibility. If the humidity has dropped(which it generally does in winter, at least here in the SE US I would say even a probability. Here, we range from 100% in the dead of summer to 19% as it is now, after a cold front moved through. Drives me nutttts trying to keep things a stable 45%RH I'm glad you mentioned this, because I don't finish my fretboard edges, and it gives me another reason not to!

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Brad Tucker