Polyurethane on a fretless question

[Nakket]

I know when defretting most advise to use it, but what about on an already fretless neck? I was thinking of putting some on my SX fretless so when I buy some rounds for it they don't eat up the board as quickly. Is this a decent idea or not?

[62bass]

The polyurethane you can buy in stores that's designed for brush on or wipe on home use are not all that hard. They're easy enough to apply but won't prevent wear from strings.

The polyurethane used by pros for spray on coatings are much harder, but probably beyond your abilities and you'll need good spray equipment to apply it. Even though they're harder, they are not as hard as metal strings. They'll show wear too.

Some guys have used polyester boat resin and claim it works good. It's also not as hard as metal strings.

Others have used epoxy resin (I've done this on a couple fretless basses). While not quite as hard as polyester, but much harder than brush on polyurethane, it also shows wear from metal strings.

There are also various wipe on finishes such as Tru Oil which many have used. They will wear too. The thing is, strings are made of metal. Metal is hard. Roundwound strings are more abrasive than flatwounds and wear faster.

No matter which surface treatment you use, it'll look good for a while. Then you'll need to give it a sanding and apply another coat. If you play the bass a lot, it'll wear faster. I have a Godin fretless that I've coated with epoxy and play with flatwounds. It starting to show wear. I don't play that bass much so it's not severe.

Thinking back, I could have saved myself all the work and left it alone.

[pkr2]

Originally Posted by Nakket

I know when defretting most advise to use it, but what about on an already fretless neck? I was thinking of putting some on my SX fretless so when I buy some rounds for it they don't eat up the board as quickly. Is this a decent idea or not?

It's a good idea, provided a formulation is used that resists abrasion.

Polyurethane or epoxy floor coatings are generally very abrasion resistant and will reduce the wear on your fingerboard. They dry to a nice shine and brush marks seem to self level with no sanding required if applied strictly according to the package directions.

Marine coatings are designed with moisture resistance, much more than abrasion resistance in mind. They also contain waxes which make smoothing out any imperfections hard. Marine epoxies and polys are available in a wax free formula that sands and finishes much smoother than the over the counter stuff. They are sill not nearly a hard as a floor finishing formulation.

[jackson_bass]

Try the superglue finish. It works great.

[u2Fletch]

Ditto on the Cyanocrylate (Superglue) finish. Stuff is rock hard and you can apply half a dozen or more coats, sanding between coats, in less than an hour or two. I was shocked how easy it was to get great results.

Jeff

[bradjonesbass]

Originally Posted by u2Fletch

Ditto on the Cyanocrylate (Superglue) finish. Stuff is rock hard and you can apply half a dozen or more coats, sanding between coats, in less than an hour or two. I was shocked how easy it was to get great results.

Jeff

Do you use the fast drying stuff or just regular superglue?

[CBBass123]

Bump... Superglue? I just defretted my bass, I would like to know information on this as well...Thanx

[jackson_bass]

Here is what I posted in another area. . . .
these are directions (roughly) that were listed in a recent Bass Player mag. This is by Dan Erlewine himself. I did not use the microfinish steps, and got GREAT results. the neck is durable and has a mirror-like finish. . . .


I didn't exactly follow the complete directions, but I got most of it. According to the article:
Mask off the neck leaving the fingerboard-and wear gloves.

1. remove frets.
2. sand with 220 grit to smooth.
3. fill slots with perfing, or putty.
[use the "Back" side of wet/dry sandpaper and apply thin superglue over the fretboard. You need to move the sandpaper continuously. if you stop, it will glue the paper to the neck.]
4. repeat the process (stopping for 10 minutes in between). the action of the paper causing friction on the fretboard will dry the superglue, but the directions mention using accelerator on the glue (I didn't).
5. after three coats of superglue, sand the fretboard with 400 grit paper to smooth the surface until it is slightly powdery.
6. Apply three more coats of superglue, and sand through several grits. . . (400-600-800 non-loading paper). This should be quick sanding to get to the 800.
7. Switch to wet sanding with 1000 1500 and 2000 grit. I stopped at the 1000 grit, and got a mirror finish on that thing. the instructions state using wet micro mesh (3400 - 4000 - 6000 - 8000)

You can use rubbing compound to get a satiny shine. . . I found that this isn't necessary - You may want to, though.
The whole process took a little less than 2 hours, and gave great results.

Dan stated that the first three or four coats for his project was with no.20 superglue, and the rest was with no.10. I only had one kind and it worked like a charm!
If you give this a try, let me know how it turns out...... mine was half-assed and was great.

[Brass Nut]

Seems that shouldbe "stickied" somewhere.
... and thank you.

[bradjonesbass]

I'm going to have to try that. I used a brush on poly and it feels and sounds poor. I'm going to have to try the superglue.

[jackson_bass]

I think you will probably be surprised at how easy it is and what a smooth and hard fretboard you will get. When the wet sanding starts it will SHINE.

[MCT]

Can I see a photo of those super glue fingerboards. Then maybe a sound clip. I hope I'm not asking for too much.

[jackson_bass]

I'll get some photos as quickly as I can. I can get a sound clip too, but I am still learning to play the de-fretted beast. . . but I may be able to get you something half-way decent tomorrow.

[jackson_bass]

Here is a photo of the fretboard. I couldn't get the photo to show the gloss like I wanted. . . but you can get the idea. You can tell that I wasn't kidding when I said that I yanked the frets out.

[jackson_bass]

And another photo.

[slugworth]

Good old fiberglass resin. Over catalyze it a little; the can says use 14 drops of catalyst for 1 oz. of resin. I used 20 drops. The stuff dries clear and hard as glass in about an hour. You have to work VERY fast when applying it, you'll have less than 5 minutes working time, then it's sand, sand, sand, and sand some more. I used micro-mesh all the way up to 12000 for a nice reflective gloss.

[jackson_bass]

MCT.... I finally got around to getting a sound clip. It is very rough, just wired to the IBM, but maybe you can get an idea.

[jackson_bass]

MCT.... I finally got around to getting a sound clip. It is very rough, just wired to the IBM, but maybe you can get an idea.


sound didn't attach. . . . I think it's too big to attach, but P.M. me and I will try to get it to you.

[62bass]

Originally Posted by slugworth

Good old fiberglass resin. Over catalyze it a little; the can says use 14 drops of catalyst for 1 oz. of resin. I used 20 drops. The stuff dries clear and hard as glass in about an hour. You have to work VERY fast when applying it, you'll have less than 5 minutes working time, then it's sand, sand, sand, and sand some more. I used micro-mesh all the way up to 12000 for a nice reflective gloss.

Yes, that's polyester resin.

[jtmjtm45]

Ill add here that its easier to use white paper towel that the stiffer sandpaper.the key is to have it presanded to at least 400 drop a dime sized dot on and rub quickly for about 10 seconds then pull off go thru all frets this way then do a second coat the same before even thinkin about sanding,3rd coat lite scuff sanding with 400 5&6th coat then 600,then 7&8th,let it sit over night.9&10th coat 800 0r 1000 grit.by now the build is right to start wet sanding 1200 and 1500 grit.if you have burn thru put down another coat wait another day and start buffing with 3m finess-it then your really shining.
my .02 cents