Walnut fretboard - which finish ?

[sha4096]

I need some advices for the fretboard finish of my current build. I don't know which finish would be the best for it. I have seen many threads about the body itself but I didn't find much info about walnut fretboards

Oil, varnish, lacquer ? What would you use considering the strings friction, fingers, etc.. ?

Here's a picture, the walnut is not that dark, rather reddish (it's not exactly the same specie as the one commonly seen in USA)

[Telenator]

I had my guy do this finish in what he calls poly. It's tough, looks great and darkensd the wood. The inlay on the fret board is walnut as well as the body.

[Jack Wells]

I would probably use some shade of Watco Danish Oil depending on how dark you want it. If it's not available in Switzerland, there's probably something similar.

[mellecaster]

Originally Posted by jwells393

I would probably use some shade of Watco Danish Oil depending on how dark you want it. If it's not available in Switzerland, there's probably something similar.

Me 2 + on the Watco..should be nice on Walnut.

[sha4096]

Unfortunately I have never seen the so-called "Danish oil" here in Switzerland (I have never seen shellac as well). But I found some teak oil this afternoon and I tried on a piece of walnut, it looks pretty good. I don't know the exact difference between these two kind of oils (according to http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=58474 - they are the same). The teak oil keeps the reddish hue of my fretboard and is not too dark - well walnut and teak are similar. That's great, I will use that and post some pics as I have tried other products.

Thanks for sharing your knowledge.

[boris bubbanov]

Watco, in addition to their Danish Oil, has a 'Teak Oil' product as well. It is said to be for teak, mahogany and rosewood, but I've used it on storm recovered tropical wood exterior tables and chairs with good effect. The Danish Oil is, I think, for interior use.

Because of its density and natural oils, few here use grainfill or a finish on rosewood fingerboards. I don't know how walnut would fare on a fretboard if it were not filled. I'd be inclined to try Bartley's 'light' oil based grain filler and yet clearly these Watcos are intended to soak into the wood, not sit on it, so I don't know how that would work.

I recall the walnut ya'll get there is decidedly lighter in color that the Juglans Nigra we see here. It should look great.

Another aside. If you let Pure Tung Oil soak into an unfilled Walnut body, then coat the finish with the polymerized 'Tung Oil' finish, some parts of the wood may get more oil than they can handle. I have a small guitar pick sized area on the back of my Walnut Tele body where the Minwax 'Tung Oil' finish looks dead flat, almost gummy while the rest of the body is a soft glow.

[Colt W. Knight]

true oil looks fantastic on walnut gun stocks

[Flat357]

Originally Posted by jwells393

I would probably use some shade of Watco Danish Oil depending on how dark you want it. If it's not available in Switzerland, there's probably something similar.

One of my Teles is finished with Watco Danish oil .

I'm curious to know if I need to add another application at any stage Jack .

What do you think ?

I don't have the original , or indeed know the colour , but does it last forever or ?

[sha4096]

Originally Posted by Flat357

One of my Teles is finished with Watco Danish oil .

I'm curious to know if I need to add another application at any stage Jack .

What do you think ?

I don't have the original , or indeed know the colour , but does it last forever or ?

On the teak oil notice, they say you must apply it once or twice a year to keep the look, but as the teak seems to be for outdoor use, the guitar will probably need less. I guess all oils must be periodically applied to "feed" the wood.

[robt57]

Originally Posted by sha4096

Unfortunately I have never seen the so-called "Danish oil" here in Switzerland

How about Teak Oil, clear teak oil on walnut is also nice. And I think it is made for outside/boat wood. So durability should not be an issue.

May notbe helpful, but I have picture of the back of my oiled ash/walnut Tele, I'll look for it and UL it.

[styxshogun]

You may want to consider Boiled Linseed oil. Depends on the age of the wood. Hardwoods have closed cells whereas softwood have open cells, so be patient with it soaking in and drying, using SEVERAL applications. Did you use hide glue on the fret board, or is it not glued down yet?

I'm rebuilding a old 60's axe using old dark walnut for the fret board...aged well and nice block of rough cut, tight grain heartwood. Probably will use mesquite for the next build...go figure. Mesquite is harder than rock but has a niiiice grain and is considered a scrap wood in Texas! ;)

Blessings,
styxshogun

[styxshogun]

Oh, and here's a link I use to check out color schemes, bodies, pickguards, knobs, et al. It's really nice to get a virtual look at what you might want. You can choose all sorts of options and move them around on your virtual guitar also, if you're doing a custom:

http://www.usacustomguitars.com/virtualguitar.html

Blessings in Jesus,
StyxShogun