What filler?

[Elemetal]

So I plan on defretting my bass this upcoming weekend and I was wondering if theres a certain type of fillers I should and Should not use when filling the gaps. Types such as: exterior/interior filler or exterior or interior also do I want water proof or stainable? Thanks in advance.

[62bass]

Originally Posted by Elemetal

So I plan on defretting my bass this upcoming weekend and I was wondering if theres a certain type of fillers I should and Should not use when filling the gaps. Types such as: exterior/interior filler or exterior or interior also do I want water proof or stainable? Thanks in advance.

Do you want the fret lines to show or do you want them to be concealed as much as possible? Also, what fingerboard wood do you have?

[Elemetal]

I have a rosewood fingerboard right now and I'd prefer it to be concealed as much as possible but if its going to stand out like a sore thumb I'd rather have lines then.

[62bass]

Originally Posted by Elemetal

I have a rosewood fingerboard right now and I'd prefer it to be concealed as much as possible but if its going to stand out like a sore thumb I'd rather have lines then.

The lines will show no matter what you do, but at a distance you won't notice much. I've used epoxy mixed with wood dust from sanding. There are wood fillers that can be got in dark wood tones that dry hard. Spackling is one that's good. I once used epoxy and powdered expresso coffe to fill in a very dark rosewood board. Most of the wood fillers shrink when they dry so you may have to sand level then apply again. Pretty well any filler that dries hard should do. On my first fretless project I used Elmers or Weldwood plastic wood that came in a small can. I didn't coat the board (rosewood) after, yet it lasted for 12 years with no problem and no treatment at all.

[All_¥our_Bass]

You used coffee in a bass!! LOL!!

[Elemetal]

Alright I'll use lines then so my question is still not answered do I need a exterior/interior filler or just exterior or just interior?

[62bass]

Originally Posted by Elemetal

Alright I'll use lines then so my question is still not answered do I need a exterior/interior filler or just exterior or just interior?

Use exterior. It probably won't matter which one you use (I used interior on my first one) but the exterior will make you feel more at ease. The exterior fillers I've used have a strong solvent smell to them (probably acetone) and dry very quickly. If you decide to coat the board after with polyurethane, epoxy or some other finish you won't have any adhesion problems with the coating sticking to the filler.

[62bass]

Originally Posted by All_¥our_Bass

You used coffee in a bass!! LOL!!

I know it's funny. Everyone I've told it to laughs, but it was the closest colour match I could find at the time. It just happened to be handy and had been sitting around unused for months.

I've used strong coffee and tea as a wood stain at times. Tea works well on pine to give an instant aged look. It's an old trick used by many. A home made water based dye.

[pkr2]

Originally Posted by 62bass

I know it's funny. Everyone I've told it to laughs, but it was the closest colour match I could find at the time. It just happened to be handy and had been sitting around unused for months.

I've used strong coffee and tea as a wood stain at times. Tea works well on pine to give an instant aged look. It's an old trick used by many. A home made water based dye.

This is a repair that I made on a old, old fingerboard.
I scraped the sides of my corncob pipe bowl down to get the right color of tobacco stained corncob dust. It matched the old fb nearly perfectly whe mixed with a bit of wood glue to make a filler. lol

[emils]

Originally Posted by Elemetal

Alright I'll use lines then so my question is still not answered do I need a exterior/interior filler or just exterior or just interior?

If you want lines to show and look nice I would use maple/bamboo/plastic strips to fill the slots instead of wood filler. I'll take some shots of the maple neck I did not long ago and post them tonight. I used black guitar binding strips, I widened the slots using a hacksaw, hammered the strips in and secured them in using super glue. Sanded the plastic strips down to the fretboard and covered it in epoxy. Took about two hours to fill the slots and sand them down and couple of days to apply epoxy.

[62bass]

Originally Posted by emils

If you want lines to show and look nice I would use maple/bamboo/plastic strips to fill the slots instead of wood filler. I'll take some shots of the maple neck I did not long ago and post them tonight. I used black guitar binding strips, I widened the slots using a hacksaw, hammered the strips in and secured them in using super glue. Sanded the plastic strips down to the fretboard and covered it in epoxy. Took about two hours to fill the slots and sand them down and couple of days to apply epoxy.

Yes, that is the best way to do it. Looks very neat an professional.

[62bass]

Originally Posted by pkr2

This is a repair that I made on a old, old fingerboard.
I scraped the sides of my corncob pipe bowl down to get the right color of tobacco stained corncob dust. It matched the old fb nearly perfectly whe mixed with a bit of wood glue to make a filler. lol

Great. Someone said "Necessity is the mother of invention" Very true.

[spudmaster34]

I used lacewood veneer that was dyed to look like purplehearton a rosewood board, it blends from a distance and sticks out up close (visually), the perfect combo

[emils]

Here you go:


Excuse the overexposed image. What I'm trying to show is if you use strips of veneer or plastic the lines are nice and straight. If you use wood filler the lines tend to be a bit squiggly and funny looking.

[62bass]

Nice job Emils.

[tplyons]

I did the same with a piece of shelf edging veneer found at my hardware store for $2.04, sanded off the adhesive and they made perfect straight lines. I did have to widen the slots a bit with an Xacto knife, but they worked great and still look good to this day.