im making a fretless five string bass, and it has a purpleheart fretboard...should i put a finnish on it, or polyurethanyne, or just leave it naked....its a beautiful wood and im worried about covering its beauty as well as stopping oxidation, which would stop the increase of its beautiful shade of purple

I finished the one PH fretboard I've made but waited a few days after final sanding so it would get more purple. I used catalyzed polyurethane.

Actually, as purpleheart ages and oxidizes, it will start to turn to a more brownish color. Sealing the board will slow this process down, but it will happen no matter wht you use, short of a vacuum....LOL....good luck with it.

thanks guys, would you recommend staining it before putting the polyurethene on???

thanks guys, would you recommend staining it before putting the polyurethene on???


no, I would not stain purpleheart.

Freshly sanded, the wood has a bright purple, but as it ages (oxidizes) the purple turns a wonderful, rich purple. I’ve had my purpleheart fretless for 2 ½ years and just love the colour of the fingerboard (it came unfinished, and I put a wipe on Scandinavian oil finish (Danish oil/polyurethane). It looks great, IMO.

Question: What if you put Armor-All on the board? Because if I remember correctly, it's due to UV rays that purpleheart goes brown - blocking out the UV rays is exactly what Armor-All is supposed to do.

It's kind of like dipping your knife into a lemon water bath when you slice artichokes (and then you submerge the artichokes in more lemon water).

um,.....what about artichokes?

and i would reccomend no on the armor all, its a silicon based liquid that doesnt dry under normal conditions and is a magnet for dust and dirt particles, neither of which i think anyone wants becomeing part of a fretboard...

i would just do an oil finish of some sort if it were me. i personally like the darker purpleheart after its got a few years of work in it

Question: What if you put Armor-All on the board? Because if I remember correctly, it's due to UV rays that purpleheart goes brown - blocking out the UV rays is exactly what Armor-All is supposed to do.

:eyebrow:

Question: What if you put Armor-All on the board? Because if I remember correctly, it's due to UV rays that purpleheart goes brown - blocking out the UV rays is exactly what Armor-All is supposed to do.

It's kind of like dipping your knife into a lemon water bath when you slice artichokes (and then you submerge the artichokes in more lemon water).

WARNING!
Armor-All has silicone in it...keep it AWAY from wood!