This is the first time I have attempted to work with epoxy on a fretless bass. I have done this once before a few years back with polyurethane and it did not give me the results I was looking for. Hopefully the System 3 epoxy method will be a success, so far it seems to be ok.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y155/Linas03/Fretless%20Project/EDDELETES023.jpg

The first thing that I did to the bass was take out the nut. This turned out to be harder than expected, the nut was made out of soft plastic and chipped away as I tried to coax it out. I was left with a badly damaged nut that I had to use a Dremel disc style bit to remove the rest of the nut. After the dremmel, the nut came out cleanly, without chipping any of the surrounding wood.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y155/Linas03/Fretless%20Project/EDDELETES025.jpg

The next thing that I did, was take 80, 120, 160, and 220 sand paper to the fret board and lightly sanded smooth any imperfections. I did not go balls to the wall sanding, nothing extreme enough to change the radius or anything of the sort.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y155/Linas03/Fretless%20Project/EDDELETES026.jpg

After that I took a piece of painters tape and taped off the nut slot. You definitely do not want to get epoxy into the slot unless you want problems farther down the road.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y155/Linas03/Fretless%20Project/EDDELETES028.jpg

The next precaution I took was to tape up the whole back of the neck, except the headstock. I used packing tape, which I read works better than painter tape, because I guess with the painters tape, the epoxy can bleed through a bit. Just have the edge of the tape run along the edge of the fret board and work slowly to make sure it stays perpendicular.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y155/Linas03/Fretless%20Project/FRETLESSPROJECT010.jpg

Next, I took regular mineral spirits that you can get at the hardware store, put it on a lint free rag, and cleaned the fret board of any oil and dust that might still be on there. Any oil in the wood will hinder the epoxy's bond to the wood.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y155/Linas03/Fretless%20Project/FRETLESSPROJECT011.jpg

As you can see, there was some dust that needed removing.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y155/Linas03/Fretless%20Project/FRETLESSPROJECT012.jpg

While the mineral spirits are evaporating out of the wood, you can start to measure out Part A of the epoxy.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y155/Linas03/Fretless%20Project/FRETLESSPROJECT014.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y155/Linas03/Fretless%20Project/FRETLESSPROJECT015.jpg

I used tablespoons, but any other precise measuring device should be fine, just make sure not to use your wife or moms best kitchen stuff. I put 6 tablespoons of Part A into a Tupperware container. After I had the 6 tablespoons of epoxy in the Tupperware I realized this is going to be a bit too much for the amount I will be working with. Next coat I will most likely use 2 tablespoons of Part A. After you have precisely measured out you part A, you are ready to add Part B, which is hardener. The System Three Mirror coat calls for a 2:1 ratio. So since I used an unnecessary 6 tablespoons of Part A, I will need to add 3 tablespoons of part B. I recommend using a different tablespoon than the one you for part A, or cleaning it off with mineral spirits and a clean rag.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y155/Linas03/Fretless%20Project/FRETLESSPROJECT017.jpg

After your two parts of the epoxy are in the container, you will want to mix them together thoroughly, but avoiding getting air bubbles into the mix. I used a rubber spatula to mix.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y155/Linas03/Fretless%20Project/FRETLESSPROJECT018.jpg

After a good mixing, it should look similar to this.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y155/Linas03/Fretless%20Project/FRETLESSPROJECT019.jpg

Now that the mineral spirits have evaporated and dust has been taken off your fret board will look like this and it is ready to have the mixed epoxy applied to it..

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y155/Linas03/Fretless%20Project/FRETLESSPROJECT020.jpg

Now that everything is prepared, you are ready for coating the fret board. I used a foam brush. Just dip the tip of the brush into the epoxy and start coating the fret board. I started by the nut slot and moved down. If you look at the coating with light reflecting off it, you will notice craters where the epoxy did not bond to the wood. Take your brush and mash it into these spots to make sure it sticks. Try not to put too many strokes of epoxy on, the more times you brush over the more bubbles you will get.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y155/Linas03/Fretless%20Project/FRETLESSPROJECT021.jpg

After you have taken care of all your craters (some small ones will stay regardless of mashing in my experience) go over the fret board with the brush in one clean sweep at an even pressure along the entire length.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y155/Linas03/Fretless%20Project/FRETLESSPROJECT022.jpg

Your fret board should look like this now. Don't worry about epoxy dripping off the sides, if you have taped the neck correctly, you should have no problem. Also, having a plastic sheet under your work space should make clean up easier.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y155/Linas03/Fretless%20Project/FRETLESSPROJECT023.jpg

30 minutes after your final brush stroke, come back to your neck, which will still be wet, and squeegee off all of the excess epoxy. I tore my squeegee off of a winter window scraper. I'm sure many things can be used for this procedure, but this is just what I had laying around the house. I have heard of people using credit cards, but I just used a rubber squeegee because System Three says use a squeegee, not a credit card.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y155/Linas03/Fretless%20Project/FRETLESSPROJECT028.jpg

Again, I worked from the nut to the opposite end.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y155/Linas03/Fretless%20Project/FRETLESSPROJECT029.jpg

Now, your first coat of epoxy is ready to sit in a room where the vents and windows are closed and there will not be a lot of traffic. You want to keep dust to a minimum because any dust that settles on the epoxy is going to mean more sanding and more room for error later on.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y155/Linas03/Fretless%20Project/FRETLESSPROJECT031.jpg

Great!

Would you mind PMing me when you do so? I tend to forget to check back on this thread often :(

-Mark

Mark, i sent you the PM, and sorry about having just links for the pics, i am not a cool member that paid money, so i cant add tons of huge pictures, unless someone can tell me how to add them to an HTML script.

This is the first time I have attempted to work with epoxy on a fretless bass. I have done this once before a few years back with polyurethane and it did not give me the results I was looking for. Hopefully the System 3 epoxy method will be a success, so far it seems to be ok.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y155/Linas03/Fretless%20Project/EDDELETES023.jpg

The first thing that I did to the bass was take out the nut. This turned out to be harder than expected, the nut was made out of soft plastic and chipped away as I tried to coax it out. I was left with a badly damaged nut that I had to use a Dremel disc style bit to remove the rest of the nut. After the dremmel, the nut came out cleanly, without chipping any of the surrounding wood.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y155/Linas03/Fretless%20Project/EDDELETES025.jpg

The next thing that I did, was take 80, 120, 160, and 220 sand paper to the fret board and lightly sanded smooth any imperfections. I did not go balls to the wall sanding, nothing extreme enough to change the radius or anything of the sort.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y155/Linas03/Fretless%20Project/EDDELETES026.jpg

After that I took a piece of painters tape and taped off the nut slot. You definitely do not want to get epoxy into the slot unless you want problems farther down the road.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y155/Linas03/Fretless%20Project/EDDELETES028.jpg

The next precaution I took was to tape up the whole back of the neck, except the headstock. I used packing tape, which I read works better than painter tape, because I guess with the painters tape, the epoxy can bleed through a bit. Just have the edge of the tape run along the edge of the fret board and work slowly to make sure it stays perpendicular.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y155/Linas03/Fretless%20Project/FRETLESSPROJECT010.jpg

Next, I took regular mineral spirits that you can get at the hardware store, put it on a lint free rag, and cleaned the fret board of any oil and dust that might still be on there. Any oil in the wood will hinder the epoxy's bond to the wood.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y155/Linas03/Fretless%20Project/FRETLESSPROJECT011.jpg

As you can see, there was some dust that needed removing.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y155/Linas03/Fretless%20Project/FRETLESSPROJECT012.jpg

While the mineral spirits are evaporating out of the wood, you can start to measure out Part A of the epoxy.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y155/Linas03/Fretless%20Project/FRETLESSPROJECT014.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y155/Linas03/Fretless%20Project/FRETLESSPROJECT015.jpg

I used tablespoons, but any other precise measuring device should be fine, just make sure not to use your wife or moms best kitchen stuff. I put 6 tablespoons of Part A into a Tupperware container. After I had the 6 tablespoons of epoxy in the Tupperware I realized this is going to be a bit too much for the amount I will be working with. Next coat I will most likely use 2 tablespoons of Part A. After you have precisely measured out you part A, you are ready to add Part B, which is hardener. The System Three Mirror coat calls for a 2:1 ratio. So since I used an unnecessary 6 tablespoons of Part A, I will need to add 3 tablespoons of part B. I recommend using a different tablespoon than the one you for part A, or cleaning it off with mineral spirits and a clean rag.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y155/Linas03/Fretless%20Project/FRETLESSPROJECT017.jpg

After your two parts of the epoxy are in the container, you will want to mix them together thoroughly, but avoiding getting air bubbles into the mix. I used a rubber spatula to mix.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y155/Linas03/Fretless%20Project/FRETLESSPROJECT018.jpg

After a good mixing, it should look similar to this.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y155/Linas03/Fretless%20Project/FRETLESSPROJECT019.jpg

Now that the mineral spirits have evaporated and dust has been taken off your fret board will look like this and it is ready to have the mixed epoxy applied to it..

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y155/Linas03/Fretless%20Project/FRETLESSPROJECT020.jpg

Now that everything is prepared, you are ready for coating the fret board. I used a foam brush. Just dip the tip of the brush into the epoxy and start coating the fret board. I started by the nut slot and moved down. If you look at the coating with light reflecting off it, you will notice craters where the epoxy did not bond to the wood. Take your brush and mash it into these spots to make sure it sticks. Try not to put too many strokes of epoxy on, the more times you brush over the more bubbles you will get.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y155/Linas03/Fretless%20Project/FRETLESSPROJECT021.jpg

After you have taken care of all your craters (some small ones will stay regardless of mashing in my experience) go over the fret board with the brush in one clean sweep at an even pressure along the entire length.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y155/Linas03/Fretless%20Project/FRETLESSPROJECT022.jpg

Your fret board should look like this now. Don't worry about epoxy dripping off the sides, if you have taped the neck correctly, you should have no problem. Also, having a plastic sheet under your work space should make clean up easier.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y155/Linas03/Fretless%20Project/FRETLESSPROJECT023.jpg

30 minutes after your final brush stroke, come back to your neck, which will still be wet, and squeegee off all of the excess epoxy. I tore my squeegee off of a winter window scraper. I'm sure many things can be used for this procedure, but this is just what I had laying around the house. I have heard of people using credit cards, but I just used a rubber squeegee because System Three says use a squeegee, not a credit card.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y155/Linas03/Fretless%20Project/FRETLESSPROJECT028.jpg

Again, I worked from the nut to the opposite end.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y155/Linas03/Fretless%20Project/FRETLESSPROJECT029.jpg

Now, your first coat of epoxy is ready to sit in a room where the vents and windows are closed and there will not be a lot of traffic. You want to keep dust to a minimum because any dust that settles on the epoxy is going to mean more sanding and more room for error later on.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y155/Linas03/Fretless%20Project/FRETLESSPROJECT031.jpg




There ya go

great tutorial! I'll definitely make good use of this when I start my fretless project.

Thanks!!

Thanks beav2k2! It looks alot nicer that way doesnt it? :-)

Added this link to the FAQ thread. Thanks for your contribution!

paul

Thanks beav2k2! It looks alot nicer that way doesnt it? :-)

Much! If you want to add them to your post, just qoute my message, copy it, remove the quote stuff and then paste it in. Then I'll remove my post.

So you only went to the edge of the board? Not down the sides of the board, up to the neck finish? You don't think you might get chipping there at some point?

How many coats of the epoxy should you use to get a nice playing surface???

-ryan-

why would you squeege it off?

why would you squeege it off?
For the first coat, you want to force it into the pores. Rosewood has some deep ones. If you scrape, you're left with a level fretboard (wood plus epoxy filling in the gaps). The next coat you do will be nice and glassy, and likely won't require squeegie-ing - just sanding.

How many coats of the epoxy should you use to get a nice playing surface???

-ryan-
From what ive read, it takes about 5. Give or take.

Takeout, from the research i have done this is what it says to do. I hope it doesnt chip, but i guess i will find out shortly.

What resource did you use to learn how to do this?

Would I do anything different to a Maple fretless board?

There were 2 main resources. First is the talkbass seach function, which i read about every thread there is on how to epoxy a bass. Second was information on System Three's website, which they have alot of. Pretty much i just followed the directions verbatum that i got with my epoxy bottles. With maple the only thing i can think of that might interfere is that usually maple fretboards have some sort of laquer or shellack on them. You will most likely need to remove this before you epoxy, but i am really not sure, since i have never done this before. And if you do remove the coating, you have to be careful to keep your radius, and not oversand spots. Again, this is just what i assume you should do, i am simply making an educated guess that might be incorrect. Nateo did an epoxy on a maple fretboard, he might have some better insight into your question.

do you have any pictures of the full bass.

Great work, the only thing that doesn't look like a good idea is measuring off the epoxy with spoons above your bass!

You didn't have to re-radius the bass when you were done.?....t

Great work, the only thing that doesn't look like a good idea is measuring off the epoxy with spoons above your bass!

Its just an illusion, i was measuring close to the bass, but farther foreward.

You didn't have to re-radius the bass when you were done.?....t

I was going to re-radius the bass, but after i finished the polishing and whatnot, the bass played fine and i feel it didnt need it.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y155/Linas03/laxhead010.jpg
fretboard still has some sheen to it.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y155/Linas03/Untitled-2copy-1.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y155/Linas03/Untitled-1copy.jpg

All i need now for the bass is 2 knobs.

Here is what i did to the bass.

-Sanded headstock, restained and refinished.
-Expoxy treatment
-Push/Push series paralell switch
-Put in Dimarzio model J pickups, with new pots and wiring
-made the wooden pickguard
-installed a new nut
-installed threaded inserts

Good tutorial, but before Basschair adds this to the sticky, please fix the pics. They are references to a non-TB URL, which usually works well, but not always. I can't always see them, anyway. Seems to depend on where on the internet I hook up...?

Would I do anything different to a Maple fretless board?
Maple doesn't have the big open pores of rosewood, so it actually takes less work to seal. I usually just spread the epoxy with a foam brush and then used a radius block to sand everything back to level. Thinking more on it now the squeegee idea is the better process, since you won't have to worry about changing the radius. It should also prevent any bubbles since you won't have a thick layer of epoxy by the end.

Something else I've played around with is diluting my epoxy with pure isopropanol. That makes it thinner and causes better penetration. Diluting it reduces bond strength, but as a finish that's not much of a concern. You'll have to use more coats to get a good moisture barrier, though.

When finishing on lighter woods like maple you can also have some fun by tinting your epoxy. I've found that standard alcohol based fabric dyes work great to add just a bit of colour to the epoxy.

-Nate

I've got a fretless MIM Jazz bass. I'm not a big fan of the thump sound I get on it (too thin sounding) possibly because of the rosewood fingerboard. I was wondering if having an epoxy coating on it would make it sound a lot better. So the question is: What are the sound differences between your rosewood fingerboard uncoated and coated?

I've got a fretless MIM Jazz bass. I'm not a big fan of the thump sound I get on it (too thin sounding) possibly because of the rosewood fingerboard. "Thump" sounds to me like percussive, and not "mwah"ing or "singing". Have you tried lowering your action? that could be all it needs to get the sound you want.I was wondering if having an epoxy coating on it would make it sound a lot better. So the question is: What are the sound differences between your rosewood fingerboard uncoated and coated?Coating it should increase the high end--but not much if the action is too high.

How many coats are usully needed???

If you use a normal brush instead of a foam one you won't have as many problems with the tiny bubbles and the "craters" that resulted are commonly called "fish eyes" its from left over oils in the wood. The oils and the epoxy naturally don’t want to mix so it results in a low spot. To help remedy those, try cleaning the board with enamel thinner and then follow up that with a wax and grease remover.

Great job man! I'm about to purchase a used fretless and it looks like it needs some work, so I will probably epoxy it up!

How much did the epoxy cost and where did you get it?

Looks like it's ready for some RotoSounds!

I use the System3 products readily available at Woodcraft for my fretless epoxy conversions. The product set was around $35, and there is enough to easily do 10 necks if mixed in small batches.

all the best,

R

cool. would you reccomend doing anything different for an ebony/ebonol fingerboard?

Im happy to see I aint the only one working in my bedroom. Good Job on the tutorial, Thanks !

Just wondering - what does epoxy do to the FEEL of a fretboard? I'm personally a fan of rosewood and ebony, and UNFINISHED maple - so how does an epoxied fretboard feel in comparison with that?

An epoxyed FB feels like plastic. A big difference from raw wood.....t

Just found this. Very cool!

What could be used to dye/color the epoxy? I'd love to throw a jet black epoxy on my defretted Spector! :)

Just found this. Very cool!

What could be used to dye/color the epoxy? I'd love to throw a jet black epoxy on my defretted Spector! :)

http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=350797

Wow was that fast. THANKS!!! :)

np - I'm saving some money to epoxy my fretless fingerboard and when I first looked into it I subscribed to a few threads, this one and the one about dyes being two fo them.

Hm. I once played an Eagle 6-string fretless, which had a composite fretboard. Would an epoxied fretboard feel similar to that? If so - I'm all for it! That one played like butter!

The epoxy finish is very glossy. Im not sure how glossy the composite board was. I dont find it harder or easier to play on an epoxied board compared to raw wood. Its just different. System 3 is definitly the way to go. The first batch i mixed up in this tutorial was way too big for one coat. There was alot of waste the first time.

Interesting. The composite fretboard which I played was FLAT as can possible be. Really dull. But like I said, it was smooooth. The fastest fretboard I've come across, really - a real joy to play on. When using epoxy, and you run your finger across the bare fretboard, does it have a sticky quality to it - like say a glossy finished maple-board? Or is it as fast as your average rosewood fretboard?

Got a cheap second hand Washburn fretless a few days ago and noticed a lot of fingerboard wear when I got it home. The grooves actually cause string buzz in a few places. Do you think filling the grooves with a small amount of epoxy, letting it dry and then doing the whole neck would iron out the grooves? Or will they disappear anyway after several coats?

The alternative is planing and I don't want to lose the position dots.

It's an Axxess XS4 and might be cheap as chips but it plays and sounds an absolute dream and is well worth rescuing.

Doug.

cool. would you reccomend doing anything different for an ebony/ebonol fingerboard?

Ebonol doesn't need coating. I use ebonol on my basses. The fretless hardly shows any scratches. Ebonol is made of paper and phenolic resin. Epoxy and phenolic are similar, so it's basically already coated.

Ebony should work fine with the epoxy coating.

I've got a fretless MIM Jazz bass. I'm not a big fan of the thump sound I get on it (too thin sounding) possibly because of the rosewood fingerboard. I was wondering if having an epoxy coating on it would make it sound a lot better. So the question is: What are the sound differences between your rosewood fingerboard uncoated and coated?

Rosewood makes a warm sounding fingerboard. Putting epoxy on it would make it brighter.. but really it's just to protect it on fretless.

You probably need new pickups.

Interesting. The composite fretboard which I played was FLAT as can possible be. Really dull. But like I said, it was smooooth. The fastest fretboard I've come across, really - a real joy to play on. When using epoxy, and you run your finger across the bare fretboard, does it have a sticky quality to it - like say a glossy finished maple-board? Or is it as fast as your average rosewood fretboard?

You can sand the epoxy with 400 grit paper (and a block!) after it has fully cured and get a nice flat sheen.

I polish my phenolic fingerboards, and they are nice and slippery.

A clean and polished finished maple board should feel very slick. Lacquer is not supposed to feel sticky.

great information in this tutorial !

Now I'm thinking about doing this to my bass with Purpleheart with cyanoacrylate saturation fingerboard.

Any recomendations about working with purpleheart fingerboards?

Thanks !

Ebonol doesn't need coating. I use ebonol on my basses. The fretless hardly shows any scratches. Ebonol is made of paper and phenolic resin. Epoxy and phenolic are similar, so it's basically already coated.

Ebony should work fine with the epoxy coating.

The fretless I have has an ebonol fingerboard and has some serious marks up and down the entire length of the neck, as well as the black is slightly dull or flat looking. I'm not the first owner so I guess the previous owner played the heck out of it if it is supposed to be resistant to scratches..

This fretless could be a little brighter anyways, so I dont see any harm in putting epoxy on. I'll hopefully do it after christmas when I have some extra time/space to work on it.

My only question is about sanding it - sanding ebonol doesnt sound like a good idea to me...

I can't say if epoxy will bond to ebonol or not, but please make sure to wear a dust mask. I will be applying this tutorial towards 2 fingerboards within the next month. I'll be sure to share pictures!

The fretless I have has an ebonol fingerboard and has some serious marks up and down the entire length of the neck, as well as the black is slightly dull or flat looking. I'm not the first owner so I guess the previous owner played the heck out of it if it is supposed to be resistant to scratches..

This fretless could be a little brighter anyways, so I dont see any harm in putting epoxy on. I'll hopefully do it after christmas when I have some extra time/space to work on it.

My only question is about sanding it - sanding ebonol doesnt sound like a good idea to me...

You may be expecting too much from any scratch RESISTANT surface like epoxy/ebonol. Neither is scratch PROOF. Glass isn't even scratch proof.

I doubt you'll damage ebonol by coating it with epoxy, but you may just waste your time and effort because you may end up disappointed with epoxy NOT being scratch proof either. Although, epoxy (System 3 Mirror Coat) sure is easy to use.

You may want to start with a light sanding using 1200 - 2000 grit on your ebonol to clean it up. Then polish to whatever sheen you like.

Good Luck

cool. would you reccomend doing anything different for an ebony/ebonol fingerboard?

I was wondering this myself. I bought a squier vintage modified fretless with an ebonol fretboard and it has some roundwound marks on it. If / when you coat your fretboard with epoxy let us know how it goes.

I'll be sure to think it though and do it right and post it here for you guys. I think right now my plan is to do some light sanding w/ fine sandpaper on the side of the fingerboard so I can see what effect sanding has on ebonol, then depending on that sand the rest of the finger board or not. Then clean it and epoxy it.
I'll hopefully get it done the by the first week of january.

btw, my thought with epoxying an ebonol fingerboard isnt to scratch proof it - I just know that the fingerboard has alot of wear and tear on it, some of it done by myself, and Id rather scratch up a coating than the actual fingerboard. I also want to see if there is any aural difference in before and after.

I can't say if epoxy will bond to ebonol or not, but please make sure to wear a dust mask. I will be applying this tutorial towards 2 fingerboards within the next month. I'll be sure to share pictures!

I got 2 fingerboards epoxied 2 days ago, one is already strung up (a fretless) and plays amazingly well. The feel that epoxy adds to the fingerboard is definitely something I'd always want to have on my fretless basses. The other bass is just about finished, I just need to nip and level the frets, then apply the finish to the neck and I'm done!.. excuse the mess.:)

http://jonsbasses.com/gallery/d/1083-1/6-string+Fretted+21.JPG

http://jonsbasses.com/gallery/d/1085-1/6-string+Fretted+22.JPG

so wait - the fretted neck was epoxied and then you fretted it? Or was it vice versa?

either way - I dont know of any fretted basses with epoxied fretboards - way cool man!

Nor do I, although I have seen fretted basses with other solid finishes on the fingerboard.

Basically, the original finish / fret job sucked. So I'm going over everything again to make this beast play even more awesome. I re-radiused the fingerboard, got it prepared for the epoxy, then epoxied the fingerboard. I then had to re-slot then final sanded the epoxied fingerboard, and now I just got it fretted.

So, epoxy ~> reslot ~> final sand ~> fret

The fretless I have has an ebonol fingerboard and has some serious marks up and down the entire length of the neck, as well as the black is slightly dull or flat looking. I'm not the first owner so I guess the previous owner played the heck out of it if it is supposed to be resistant to scratches..

This fretless could be a little brighter anyways, so I dont see any harm in putting epoxy on. I'll hopefully do it after christmas when I have some extra time/space to work on it.

My only question is about sanding it - sanding ebonol doesnt sound like a good idea to me...

I guess there's different types of phenolic used. I polished mine with 0000 steel wool, and then used some Watco Danish oil to keep the shine up.

You can sand it with no problem. Use some 400 grit to start with to get the scratches out, then move up to 600 and 800. Use a sanding block.

Epoxy should adhere fine on ebonol, and would definitely add a level of protection.

I just did this over the past 2 days.

I sanded mine after 8 hours and recoated.

Then I sanded the 2nd coat after 8 hours.

I'm leaving mine flat. It looks like unfinished wood but all the grain is filled and level.

I'm still in the 70 hour waiting period for final cure.

I used Famowood Glaze Coat.

Make sure and sand your clear after 8 hours.

It opens it up and helps the curing process.

You can compound this stuff up and it will look like glass.