Sanding or stripping & oiling a maple fretboard

[willietheweirdo]

Have a maple neck with really thick lacquer, which was also all over the frets. I am a scab picker, so I eventually flaked it all off the frets. Well, it was so thick that it left gaps of bare wood next to the wire at some of the higher frets where it's thickest. (Must have been sprayed thick enough that it actually flowed with gravity.)

I'm considering pulling the frets and sanding the fingerboard (just the fingerboard) either to bare wood or leaving a tenuous layer of satin finish that will eventually wear off naturally. Perhaps sand to bare and tung oil? Wipe with acetone (nitro)? I figure it would be easier to feather to zero at the edges of the fretboard with sandpaper than solvent. I know it will eventually flake around the back of the neck, but I'm on course for that to happen anyway!

Anyone done this with photos or pointers?

 

[Freeman Keller]

First, do you know what the finish really is (you call it thick lacquer but is it really poly)? I think your idea of "leaving a tenuous layer..." would be a real pain, you probably want to take it all off and start over. Remember that the whole idea of finishing a maple fretboard is to keep it from getting filthy. If you do pull the frets and refret you need to decide when to put the finish back on - probably best after you have dressed the frets.

I did one refret of a maple board with nitro (I tested) and it was a giant pain in the neck. I swore I would never do it again

Refretting a lacquered fretboard

A couple of weeks ago a friend brought his Jazz Base over and asked if I would refret it for him. Altho I've fretted quite a few guitars, I had never done on with a lacquered maple fretboard. Had a couple of opportunities, turned them down. I actually asked here and on another forum what...

www.tdpri.com

 

[Boreas]

Is it a Fender? Know the year? I refretted a vintage 1974 Thinline neck and posted the process here. It sounds like a similar neck finish. Just click and download the PDF file. If it isn't a Fender, you can probably ignore this, because the frets won't be the same.

 

[ChicknPickn]

First, do you know what the finish really is (you call it thick lacquer but is it really poly)? I think your idea of "leaving a tenuous layer..." would be a real pain, you probably want to take it all off and start over. Remember that the whole idea of finishing a maple fretboard is to keep it from getting filthy. If you do pull the frets and refret you need to decide when to put the finish back on - probably best after you have dressed the frets.

I did one refret of a maple board with nitro (I tested) and it was a giant pain in the neck. I swore I would never do it again

Refretting a lacquered fretboard

A couple of weeks ago a friend brought his Jazz Base over and asked if I would refret it for him. Altho I've fretted quite a few guitars, I had never done on with a lacquered maple fretboard. Had a couple of opportunities, turned them down. I actually asked here and on another forum what...

www.tdpri.com

Just curious - - was that because of the maple, the lacquer, or the combination? Trying to decide what my first homemade neck should be, and if maple is more difficult to work with, maybe I should go with something else.

 

[dogmeat]

a clearcoat that thick is almost for sure going to be a poly. that stuff is pretty hard to remove. if you do strip it, you can't leave the wood bare because it gets dirty and looks crap in short order. I have fixed some similar damage on high buck guitars by spot repair. if it can be cleaned to where the bare wood and the coated wood looks the same, then just clear the bald spot. do a couple coats (or more) to build up to match then and sand to blend. if there is color involved that is more tricky but can be done.

 

[Freeman Keller]

Just curious - - was that because of the maple, the lacquer, or the combination? Trying to decide what my first homemade neck should be, and if maple is more difficult to work with, maybe I should go with something else.

I have made 30 guitars with rosewood or ebony boards and refretted at least a dozen more, all of those unfinished. With a rosewood board you slot it, inlay it, maybe bind it, bang the frets in, dress 'em and you are done. With a maple board you fret it, dress the frets, then finish the board, then you scrape the crowns (without damaging the finish) You've pretty much lost the ability to do any more work on the frets so you better have them right.

It gets increasingly worse with refretting - do you try to save most of the finish as I did with that bass, do you strip it and start over. In my rough estimate, if it takes X amount of time to fret a rosewood board and maybe 1.5 X to fret a bound rosewood board, it takes at least 2 for a finished board. If the board was finished at the factory in catalyzed polyurethane I can't do anything with it.

Leo did not do one piece necks because they are better or can be serviced in the future.

One other thing to think about as you make that decision - a one piece board kind of commits you to a curved single acting truss rod and a skunk stripe. My preference is a double acting truss rod installed from the top. Both will work but the skunk stripe is a whole lot more difficult for a home builder.

Edit to add, Hiscock has a pretty good description of jigging up to route the curved channel and a drilling jig for the angled access at the head.

 

[ChicknPickn]

I have made 30 guitars with rosewood or ebony boards and refretted at least a dozen more, all of those unfinished. With a rosewood board you slot it, inlay it, maybe bind it, bang the frets in, dress 'em and you are done. With a maple board you fret it, dress the frets, then finish the board, then you scrape the crowns (without damaging the finish) You've pretty much lost the ability to do any more work on the frets so you better have them right.

It gets increasingly worse with refretting - do you try to save most of the finish as I did with that bass, do you strip it and start over. In my rough estimate, if it takes X amount of time to fret a rosewood board and maybe 1.5 X to fret a bound rosewood board, it takes at least 2 for a finished board. If the board was finished at the factory in catalyzed polyurethane I can't do anything with it.

Leo did not do one piece necks because they are better or can be serviced in the future.

One other thing to think about as you make that decision - a one piece board kind of commits you to a curved single acting truss rod and a skunk stripe. My preference is a double acting truss rod installed from the top. Both will work but the skunk stripe is a whole lot more difficult for a home builder.

Edit to add, Hiscock has a pretty good description of jigging up to route the curved channel and a drilling jig for the angled access at the head.

Thanks! I have a book of his - - time to pull it out and study.

 

[willietheweirdo]

@Boreas @Freeman Keller @dogmeat

Thanks for your replies! It's actually from a lemon of a 70th anniversary esquire I parted out. It was so ugly new it's been sort of a beater and, not surprisingly, it's even uglier now. I could remove the finish off the entire neck with my thumb nails if I had the patience.

I am not opposed to a lot of grunge on the fretboard, or even sections of missing finish that have smoothed off over the years. But jagged, thick, flaking edges my nails actually catch on are no bueno.

I've never been a fan of candy-coated fingerboards for this reason and I think I'll be a rosewood guy from here on out. Just want to give this neck one last chance before it joins its original body in the fireplace... maybe I could just leave the frets on and buff the ever-loving snot out of it?

 

[Boreas]

@Boreas @Freeman Keller @dogmeat

Thanks for your replies! It's actually from a lemon of a 70th anniversary esquire I parted out. It was so ugly new it's been sort of a beater and, not surprisingly, it's even uglier now. I could remove the finish off the entire neck with my thumb nails if I had the patience.

I am not opposed to a lot of grunge on the fretboard, or even sections of missing finish that have smoothed off over the years. But jagged, thick, flaking edges my nails actually catch on are no bueno.

I've never been a fan of candy-coated fingerboards for this reason and I think I'll be a rosewood guy from here on out. Just want to give this neck one last chance before it joins its original body in the fireplace... maybe I could just leave the frets on and buff the ever-loving snot out of it?

I have a CV 50s Esquire that has a nicely plastic-finished neck. It sounds like YOUR neck was trying to revisit the overly thick plastic sprays of the 70s - whether by design or mistake. It was normal for these Fenders to have sags/puddles at the frets. Ideally (when new) there should be just a slight "fillet" at the fret with just a minimal amount of finish removed from the top of the fret. Then wear (or fingernails!) removes more finish from the fret over time. I am not sure why they started to really pile on the plastic - especially on the fretboard. It tends to look very irregular and wavy (because it was sprayed after the frets were installed), with runs and eventually chips - instead of a "wear" pattern like nitro.

At least the Squiers have pressed-in frets and not slide-in like the original Fenders. It can make removal less damaging. Not many people are adept at sliding out frets, but once you go through the learning curve, they often come out quite cleanly. Leo never envisioned anyone refretting a neck! That is why they sold new ones. Who would DO such a thing!!

If you looked at my PDF file, you will see that I was conflicted over what to do - mostly because it was my first refret - and on a vintage (albeit not particularly desirable/valuable) Fender. My biggest mistake was taking the finish down to the wood trying to eliminate the fillets entirely. Although easier, the neck lost allotta patina due to loss of the yellowed finish. I didn't do a good job of staining that color back, but am not about to redo it! I am also reluctant to spray an over-tint over it now. It plays like a dream, and many would say that is all that counts. Bottom line is, a professional refurb was not in my budget. I wouldn't have done anything if it had playable frets.

 

[willietheweirdo]

I have a CV 50s Esquire that has a nicely plastic-finished neck. It sounds like YOUR neck was trying to revisit the overly thick plastic sprays of the 70s - whether by design or mistake. It was normal for these Fenders to have sags/puddles at the frets. Ideally (when new) there should be just a slight "fillet" at the fret with just a minimal amount of finish removed from the top of the fret. Then wear (or fingernails!) removes more finish from the fret over time. I am not sure why they started to really pile on the plastic - especially on the fretboard. It tends to look very irregular and wavy (because it was sprayed after the frets were installed), with runs and eventually chips - instead of a "wear" pattern like nitro.

At least the Squiers have pressed-in frets and not slide-in like the original Fenders. It can make removal less damaging. Not many people are adept at sliding out frets, but once you go through the learning curve, they often come out quite cleanly. Leo never envisioned anyone refretting a neck! That is why they sold new ones. Who would DO such a thing!!

If you looked at my PDF file, you will see that I was conflicted over what to do - mostly because it was my first refret - and on a vintage (albeit not particularly desirable/valuable) Fender. My biggest mistake was taking the finish down to the wood trying to eliminate the fillets entirely. Although easier, the neck lost allotta patina due to loss of the yellowed finish. I didn't do a good job of staining that color back, but am not about to redo it! I am also reluctant to spray an over-tint over it now. It plays like a dream, and many would say that is all that counts. Bottom line is, a professional refurb was not in my budget. I wouldn't have done anything if it had playable frets.

I did have a look at the pdf--thanks for sharing that! I was thinking I might take the opportunity to throw some jumbos on there for giggles, but I'd pay someone else do that part anyway now I would probably skip trying to remove them myself, too, so I'm approaching Leo's mentality with the potential cost.

Well, there's nothing wrong with the frets anyway, so I wonder if i can remove the offending finish without roughing them up too bad?

I found a builder on the instant-gram who does necks like this, which gave me the idea:

 

[Fiesta Red Tele]

Have a maple neck with really thick lacquer, which was also all over the frets. I am a scab picker, so I eventually flaked it all off the frets. Well, it was so thick that it left gaps of bare wood next to the wire at some of the higher frets where it's thickest. (Must have been sprayed thick enough that it actually flowed with gravity.)

I'm considering pulling the frets and sanding the fingerboard (just the fingerboard) either to bare wood or leaving a tenuous layer of satin finish that will eventually wear off naturally. Perhaps sand to bare and tung oil? Wipe with acetone (nitro)? I figure it would be easier to feather to zero at the edges of the fretboard with sandpaper than solvent. I know it will eventually flake around the back of the neck, but I'm on course for that to happen anyway!

Anyone done this with photos or pointers?

If I were you I'd buy a replacement neck, and do without all the chores, you can get licensed by Fender necks like Mighty Mite and they are often better than OEM

 

[myfenderissues]

Have a maple neck with really thick lacquer, which was also all over the frets. I am a scab picker, so I eventually flaked it all off the frets. Well, it was so thick that it left gaps of bare wood next to the wire at some of the higher frets where it's thickest. (Must have been sprayed thick enough that it actually flowed with gravity.)

I'm considering pulling the frets and sanding the fingerboard (just the fingerboard) either to bare wood or leaving a tenuous layer of satin finish that will eventually wear off naturally. Perhaps sand to bare and tung oil? Wipe with acetone (nitro)? I figure it would be easier to feather to zero at the edges of the fretboard with sandpaper than solvent. I know it will eventually flake around the back of the neck, but I'm on course for that to happen anyway!

Anyone done this with photos or pointers?

If it was an older fender neck with factory finish should have left it alone. Having said, Strip to bare wood with chemical stripper and clean u wood with light sanding maybe 400 grit sandpaper but do not sand on fret wire. . Then respray it. Clear Lacquer or poly, gloss or satin. either is eqal. Would never use 'oil finish' on a maple f board. Removing frets and them putting them back on, probably need to refret it. Removing frets will make kinks and bends in the radius. If you he neck is worth anything you are damaging it. If it's not worth anything, not a custom radius or vintage fender allparts sells a factory quality neck for $150 so I don't agree with the effort, but that's how I would approach it now

 

[hippychip]

Spraying the finish on after the frets are installed is the dumbest idea ever.

 

[Sax-son]

I had one of those heavy poly Fender Strats from the early 1970's and all I did was made sure there was no finish on the frets and gave it a once over with a scotchbrite on the fretboard. It worked fine. I am opposed to stripping finish from a neck unless for some reason it is getting in the way of your playing. That is a lot of work what he is preparing to do and would be much better off with a new neck instead. Scotchbrite it Willie then walk away.

 

[dvto2]

If it was an older fender neck with factory finish should have left it alone. Having said, Strip to bare wood with chemical stripper and clean u wood with light sanding maybe 400 grit sandpaper but do not sand on fret wire. . Then respray it. Clear Lacquer or poly, gloss or satin. either is eqal. Would never use 'oil finish' on a maple f board. Removing frets and them putting them back on, probably need to refret it. Removing frets will make kinks and bends in the radius. If you he neck is worth anything you are damaging it. If it's not worth anything, not a custom radius or vintage fender allparts sells a factory quality neck for $150 so I don't agree with the effort, but that's how I would approach it now

I agree. Buy the neck you want. Finished maple necks are too sticky for me. I prefer rosewood or ebony.

 

[Freeman Keller]

Spraying the finish on after the frets are installed is the dumbest idea ever.

Installing frets after finishing the board is even dumber.

 

[spurcell]

I absolutely agree with the above; Replace the sucker! There are tons of genuine fender, fender licensed and other after market necks available. For the time you'd spend doing whatever to your Maple neck, compared to what it would cost you to replace it, you'd probably end up working for a buck or 2 an hour, if you're really fast and it's Nitro. it's probably poly though, and I think I'd rather just go have all my teeth pulled than spend

If you're determined to take it on, (can I mention specific vendors without violating forum protocol? If it's a no-no, I apologize & won't do it again.) Stewmac offers a wealth of information about how to tackle just about any instrument repair, including slide in frets. They also stock all the supplies you'll need. Their tech back up is outstanding as well.

 

[PhoenixBill]

I bought a 1970’s Japanese Custom Tele clone with a maple fretboard that needed both a fret job and leveling the surface of the fretboard. After pulling the old frets and sanding it straight, I reinstalled the new frets and leveled them, then used Deft water-based polyurethane which I brushed on. I repeat, I brushed the finish on and it was self-leveling leaving no brush marks. No further sanding was required. This worked great.

edit: note I did not touch the back of the neck, I left it as it was; I only worked on the fretboard.

 

[Boreas]

Spraying the finish on after the frets are installed is the dumbest idea ever.

I believe much boils down to how Fender installed their frets back in the day. For whatever reason, they decided to slide/pull the frets in from the side and not press/tap them in. Probably, if it saved Leo a few cents on each neck (both time and materials), that is what he would do! The frets were not designed to be removed. Not much of an issue with rosewood, but with maple, a finished fretboard would get chipped up when sliding in frets. So they sprayed the finish after fretting. In some ways, it sealed and secured the fret better, and some feel the frets feel a little slipperier with the fillets at the base. But most players don't fret hard enough that they would notice. I personally like it until it comes time for a refret. Many luthiers will not refret an old-school maple Fender neck, or may charge $700+ to do it. But love it or hate it, it was THE Fender way for MANY years. You were supposed to wear out the frets, remove 4 screws, then simply replace the neck. Easy-peasy.

 

[Peegoo]

Anyone that suggests using a chemical stripper on a neck has probably never done it, because if they have, they would also warn you about keeping the goop off the dots/inlays. Many inlays are plastic and the stripper will dissolve them right along with the finish. The only inlays safe from this are those made of real shell.

It is possible to use a gel stripper, but you have to take extreme care to not apply it over the dots. Same goes for binding. Stripper getting on any of that will make your refin job 10 times more labor intensive.

Probably the simplest way to remove the finish is to pull the nut and the frets (heat each one with a soldering stick first without scorching the wood). Follow that by sanding the fretboard with 150, then 220, then 320 on a radius block. Take your time. You will have to do something about the sides of the fingerboard too, because there will be chips in the existing poly.