Anyone ever heard of inlays "raising up"?

[collicsws6z28]

I inquired the people at ishibashi about a used 75' RI Jazz bass they had. I got a reply back discussing the bass plays and functions normal, but a bit beat up, which is fine for me, I like basses that look vintaged. However, the thing that had me puzzled was she said the block inlay has appeared to loosened itself and started to raise up? Has anyone encountered something like this? If so, is it something that should stop me from buying the bass?

[MEKer]

a few things can do it--the neck could be warping from moisture, it could be twisting a bit and the truss rod may or may not be fix it, the inlays themselves may have swelled from moisture and forced themselves up. Maybe someone has other reasons to share? Personally, I would pass on buying it. But, thats just me.

[202dy]

Rising inlays is a pretty common problem encountered in older, inexpensive instruments with plastic inlays. It can also manifest itself in fine old instruments with pearl inlays, too. Sometimes the fingerboard shrinks, but usually the problem is that the glue that secures the inlay into the rout fails.

If the fingerboard is rosewood the fix is simple. Wax off the surrounding area while being careful to keep the wax away from the seams around the inlay. Wick some liquid thin superglue into the seam and press the inlay down and hold it in place with a piece of dowel rod or other disposable tool. Accelerator can be used to speed the process. A quick, light scrape with a razor blade scraper will clean up any excess glue. Finish up with some 0000 steel wool. While you're at it, do the entire fingerboard and frets, too.

Maple fingerboards (or any fingerboards) with lacquer finishes are a little trickier. The application is the same. The clean up is a little different. Omit the steel wool. After scraping there will be fine scratches in the finish. If you use a light touch they can be sanded out with some 400 and 600 grit wet or dry paper backed by a stiff foam or wood backing block. Continue rub out and buffing with automotive compounds or micro mesh papers.

If you are seriously handy this is a simple procedure. If any of this seems scary take your instrument to a pro.