Best epoxy finisher for fretless?

greiswig · #1 05-13-2008, 08:57 AM

Hi,

I know there's Thor Guitars (2 year minimum wait), but aside from them I don't know who is particularly able to refinish a fretless neck in epoxy and do a good job of it. Any recommendations?

If it matters, the neck is a Zon with phenolic wood fingerboard, and I'm in Portland, OR. Thanks!

Bass Thunder · #2 05-13-2008, 09:54 AM

I don't have a recommendation for you because I've done my own, but you do realize phenolic is a resin like epoxy? So you're planning on coating one resin with another.

Processes may vary but in general Phenolic "wood" is a wood product (laminate, dust, powder) combined with phenolic resin. It may be called "Diamond Wood" or other names.

Sand paper and a radiused sanding block may be your best friend if you're just trying to even out your existing Zon neck.

PS - My main fretless is has an uncoated ebony fingerboard and I still have years and years to go before that gets worn down to the maple neck material. If I ever get there

I'll post a big thread about it because no one has ever done it before.

knuckle_head · #3 05-13-2008, 11:30 AM

If this is a fretted bass that had the frets pulled you can use ABS to fill slots and cyano to set it in. It would be a matter of sanding at that point.

rllefebv · #4 05-13-2008, 12:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by knuckle_head

If this is a fretted bass that had the frets pulled you can use ABS to fill slots and cyano to set it in. It would be a matter of sanding at that point.

There's a fairly good tutorial in Bass Player outlining this process... It won't sound the same as a well epoxied board, if bright is the sound that you're going for... But if you're looking for more 'wood', this method should work well... I will be doing a bass shortly using Maple as filler and either cyano or straight oil. I like the 'wood' sound...

-robert

rllefebv · #5 05-13-2008, 01:06 PM

Wait!! Like the total dork that I am, I see from your reply in this thread that you are already familiar with the cyano method... Yes, I can probably be lamer... I just wasn't trying all that hard

-robert

knuckle_head · #6 05-13-2008, 01:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rllefebv

There's a fairly good tutorial in Bass Player outlining this process... It won't sound the same as a well epoxied board, if bright is the sound that you're going for... But if you're looking for more 'wood', this method should work well... I will be doing a bass shortly using Maple as filler and either cyano or straight oil. I like the 'wood' sound...

-robert

Agreed - if his board were wood. He suggests that it is phenolic and epoxying it is redundant. The cyano would serve to melt the ABS into the slots and fill them utterly, so a radius sand would then be all the work he'd need to do.

This assumes there are frets in the first place. It would be a waste of effort if it were already fretless IMO.

greiswig · #7 05-14-2008, 09:06 AM

Thanks very much for the replies. I should have been more thorough in my OP.

I bought this instrument used from a shop, and it hadn't been advertised as a converted fretless. The issues with the putty in the slots started to appear immediately, but the sellers wouldn't work with me on getting the conversion done properly.

I hand grooved the fret slots to .050", and thickness sanded small strips of maple, purpleheart, bloodwood, and rosewood. These were superglued into the slots, then sanded down. It's a pretty neat pattern.

Anyway, then the cyanoacrylate finish went on.

Okay, now that you're up to speed...

1. If I just sand down to the original phenowood, this presumably won't polish up very well. I don't know what the differences are in tone between a polished surface and a matte or woodlike surface. Can someone fill me in there?

2. Is there any reason to believe that the hardwood fret fillers would need any kind of real protection from string wear, or that they would be prone to absorbing moisture and expanding in odd ways if they are not coated?

Thanks again, all!

knuckle_head · #8 05-14-2008, 11:39 AM

If the wood you filled the slots with absorbed the cyano then it will polish up just fine - your call as to how you want to do this, but sand paper alone will give you an awesome luster on both materials if you go fine enough. You could even go to 600/800 grit and then polish it with 0000 steel wool.

A buffing wheel would work awfully well too.

Again, if the cyano wicked into the material you filled the slots with you've solved a number of potential problems; the wood ought to be impervious to moisture, and though it won't be bullet proof the wood is oh so very thin and the bulk of the wear will be carried by the phenolic.

If you choose to epoxy (and that will work, btw) be aware that in time the epoxy wears too. If it wears through to the phenolic it will be pretty unsightly as a thin white line will form where bare phenolic meets epoxy.

greiswig · #9 05-15-2008, 11:01 AM

Thank you all sincerely for your replies. Most helpful. I lose nothing by trying to just use the phenowood unfinished, it would seem.

knuckle_head · #10 05-15-2008, 12:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by greiswig

Thank you all sincerely for your replies. Most helpful. I lose nothing by trying to just use the phenowood unfinished, it would seem.

Indeed - and if you find that the wood you filled the slots with isn't holding up you can apply an epoxy two part sealer when it's called for - something similar to System Three's Rot Fixx.

babaseen · #11 05-15-2008, 01:42 PM

Another option...

http://www.hisreflection.org/dontfrettt/index.html