I have a Sadowsky Metro that came with a dark spot on the fingerboard. I'd like to remove the spot if possible, but I'm not sure how.

Here are some picture from BassCentral.com where it was originally purchased from.
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f398/zac2944/BCscreenshotcopy.jpg
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f398/zac2944/BCfullcopy.jpg
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f398/zac2944/BCcloseup.jpg

You can see the spot between the 9th and 10th frets under the G-string. I'll try to get a better photo, but I think you get the idea.

The spot does not look like a natural part of the wood or grain. I looks like something soaked into the wood and stained it.

I tried to remove it with water, Windex, 409, alcohol, lemon seed oil, and nothing worked. Does any one know what this might be and how I might remove it?

Is the fingerboard Rosewood? Or Pau Ferro?

Is the fingerboard Rosewood? Or Pau Ferro?

Well, the Bass Central site says rosewood and the Sadowsky site says Metros come with rosewood, so from that I would say that the board is rosewood. I'm not a wood expert, so I don't really know for sure.

might be a bad grease spot, Acetone might get rid of it, dab it on then use an absorbant cloth to wipe it down.
Goodluck

might be a bad grease spot, Acetone might get rid of it, dab it on then use an absorbant cloth to wipe it down.
Goodluck

I got some acetone from the hardware store and gave it a shot, but it didn't work.

I did get a buzz though.:cool: Damn that stuff stinks!

Why not call Roger and ask him? He's pretty cool that way.

Why not call Roger and ask him? He's pretty cool that way.

I'm not the original purchaser of the bass. I just got it in a trade with a fellow TBer who bought it new from Bass Central a few months ago. The original purchaser of the bass did contact Rodger about the spot. Rodger replied saying "just oil the fingerboard". When that didn't work another email was sent, but Rodger didn't reply. This is all according to the original purchaser.

I dig the bass even with the spot, but I'd like to remove it if I can.

Would it kill the fretboard if I tried using some light sand paper or steel wool?

Original owner or not, I'd call Roger myself long before I even started thinking about sanding on the 'board.

He's a relatively easy guy to talk to. I talked to him a couple of times on my '90's M24-5. Very helpful. And I surely wasn't the original owner on it.




dcr

Original owner or not, I'd call Roger myself long before I even started thinking about sanding on the 'board.

He's a relatively easy guy to talk to. I talked to him a couple of times on my '90's M24-5. Very helpful. And I surely wasn't the original owner on it.

dcr

I guess I could give him a call, but I feel like I'd be bugging him since this has already been brought to his attention. I mean, what can I expect? Don't these metros get made in Japan? How would he know what's on the board or how to remove it?

and the problem with leaving it there would be ....

and the problem with leaving it there would be ....

They'll all laugh at me!!!! ;)

Seriously, there is no real issue with it. The bass rocks and I love playing it. I'm just hoping someone might have seen something like this before and have a quick fix.

"oh yeah... that's just some xyz glue, rub some abc solution into it and you'll be all set"

Know what I mean?

They'll all laugh at me!!!! ;)

Seriously, there is no real issue with it. The bass rocks and I love playing it. I'm just hoping someone might have seen something like this before and have a quick fix.

"oh yeah... that's just some xyz glue, rub some abc solution into it and you'll be all set"

Know what I mean?

It would be nice to know what they use to install the frets (if anything). A lot of people use superglue which can be reversed with acetone, though not a simple rub, you really gotta put some elbow grease even for small spots. Some people also use epoxy, and if this is the case, you're out of luck because it's not reversible.

Does it disappear when you wet it with a lightly damp rag? or does that accentuate the spot? Can you post a pic of that? Even better, wet it with acetone and post a pic of THAT.

It would be nice to know what they use to install the frets (if anything). A lot of people use superglue which can be reversed with acetone, though not a simple rub, you really gotta put some elbow grease even for small spots. Some people also use epoxy, and if this is the case, you're out of luck because it's not reversible.

Does it disappear when you wet it with a lightly damp rag? or does that accentuate the spot? Can you post a pic of that? Even better, wet it with acetone and post a pic of THAT.

Thanks for the advice. I'm about to head out for the weekend, but when I get back I'll post the picks.