repairing fretless fingerboard?

coolrunner989 · #1 07-23-2007, 09:07 AM

I did a search and about all I could come up with was tutorials on how to expoy a fingerboard, which I will probably do BUT...
I'm about to purchase a used fretless and I was wondering..
There is alot of wear on the fingerboard (ebony or ebonol I think) below the E and B strings, not so much on the other strings. I don't like the way it looks. Other than playing alot of the top strings to even out the wear, is there a way to make the wear be less noticable? I was thinking of something that would darken the wood. I'll probably epoxy the fingerboard but if there is anything else I could do before that I'd love to know...
I don't actually have the bass yet, so no pics - sorry!

Thanks

202dy · #2 07-23-2007, 10:03 AM

The more information posted garners more information in return. What kind of bass is it? How thick is the fingerboard? What material is it exactly? What is the nature of the wear? How deep?

Without more information here are some general ideas.

If the board is thick the proper thing to do is to remove the damage by surfacing and truing the fingerboard. This involves planing and sanding the 'board to reveal a new surface.

If the fingerboard is merely a veneer (less than 3/32") then resurfacing is not an option. If the damage is severe then it can be filled several different ways. Probably the least obtrusive way would be to lay on the first couple of coats of epoxy thick enough to bring the surface level with the top of the board. For a basic ideas of the filling capacity of epoxy check out this link on epoxy application.

The other alternative with a damaged fingerboard is to remove and replace it. This is expensive to have done by the qualified tech and not a task for those who are not handy in the extreme.

coolrunner989 · #3 07-25-2007, 02:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 202dy

The more information posted garners more information in return. What kind of bass is it? How thick is the fingerboard? What material is it exactly? What is the nature of the wear? How deep?

Without more information here are some general ideas.

If the board is thick the proper thing to do is to remove the damage by surfacing and truing the fingerboard. This involves planing and sanding the 'board to reveal a new surface.

If the fingerboard is merely a veneer (less than 3/32") then resurfacing is not an option. If the damage is severe then it can be filled several different ways. Probably the least obtrusive way would be to lay on the first couple of coats of epoxy thick enough to bring the surface level with the top of the board. For a basic ideas of the filling capacity of epoxy check out this link on epoxy application.

The other alternative with a damaged fingerboard is to remove and replace it. This is expensive to have done by the qualified tech and not a task for those who are not handy in the extreme.

The bass is an Ibanez EDA905F, with an ebonol fingerboard. Whats the difference from an ebony board?

The wear isnt that deep I dont think, but I remember it being fairly noticable. I'll post pics next week when I get it.

I found that epoxy tutorial, and I will probably do that.
Looking at this website that sells the System Three epoxy, http://www.woodcraft.com/family.aspx...ID=338&cs=4505
I had another question - what does it mean by pot life? I'll be living in minnesota once college rolls around in september, so should I get hardner #1 or #2?

I also found this OLD thread Discoloration in Ebony Fretboard. which made my find this, http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Finishin...ard_Stain.html, which might work. I dont know how it would bond to ebonol though.
any more feedback?