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DIY: fretless fretboard (polyester or epoxy?)

hobbes1

hobbes1

Nov 3, 2006
418
28
sites.google.com
#1
been trying to read up on this. anyone care to give experiences with DIY treatments of polyester or epoxy as a clear finish on fretless bass fingerboards? i'm heading in the direction of a Pedulla type finish and i know his website says he uses polyester. i have found several different products on TAP plastics website including the following:

http://www.tapplastics.com/shop/product.php?pid=31&

http://www.tapplastics.com/shop/product.php?pid=38&PHPSESSID=200911130154471398652207

http://www.tapplastics.com/shop/product.php?pid=27&

i know there are some who have used Mylar on the board with good success. i'm looking, at present, of going the polyester or epoxy route and want to know how others did the job (the nuts and bolts of actually doing it and which product you used). did you use masking tape on the edges of the board? how did you keep the product from running all over the sides and back of the neck? did you seal the neck first? how did you clean the neck first? i plan on using a beater bass first time (an SX 5 string fretless with rosewood board). any ideas or contributions from experienced people are welcome. thanks!
 
#2
I went the epoxy way and its gone pretty bad. Not something that can't be fixed though. I've epoxied my fingerboard with 12 coats and sanded it with various sand papers and wet sand paper, and it's been great. When I removed the tape from the back of the fingerboard it also removed a little epoxy from the fingerboard. Nothing that can't be fixed with a little effort though, but it sure does take time which I don't have ATM. Still, if you'd be careful you'll have no probelm with it IMO. Just make sure you've no bubbles and you're good to go.

P.S I've heard of people using super glue and I think I'd go this route if I were to coat my fingerboard today
 
#4
hmmm....so i guess taping the fingerboard all around with something like painter's tape or masking tape helps keep the epoxy on the fingerboard but one has to be very careful in removing it? did you wait until the epoxy was cured before trying to remove the tape?
thanks for the replies so far.
 
#6
I've been using Invalid Link Removed for more than 10 years and absolutely love it. It's application process for a fingerboard is easy enough but it involves quite a bit of elbow grease and sandpaper to get perfectly level. But once you have it right, the benefits are well worth the effort. I've tried polyurethanes, shellacs, cyanoacrylates, marine epoxies (Petit) and a few others but none seem to match the Envirotex Lite for longevity, feel and brightness.

It's all I will ever coat a fingerboard with now.

Here's a fingerboard I did several years ago before finish sanding:
Link Removed
 
#7
Diogenes: that looks great! a couple of questions if you don't mind:

1. in the instructions for the product, it says sanding can make a "satin" as opposed to gloss finish. how'd you get the glossiness to stay with sanding?

2. how could you tell when the finish is fully level? just the obvious way with a level (bubble containing) measure?

3. did you wrap the edges of the neck with masking tape or some other type? did you wait until full cure before removing the tape.

4. do you think that this is a strictly neck-off the bass procedure or with taping, could it be done with the neck attached to the bass?

thanks!
 
#8
hobbes1 said:
1. in the instructions for the product, it says sanding can make a "satin" as opposed to gloss finish. how'd you get the glossiness to stay with sanding?
Click to expand...
I usually start with 150 or 220 grit sandpaper (depending on how well the epoxy self-leveled during curing), move my way to finer grits and finish off with 1000 grit. Then I'll buff the epoxied fboard with '0000' steel wool and finally buff it to a glossy finish using Mother's Metal polish... yep you read right, metal polish. ;)


hobbes1 said:
2. how could you tell when the finish is fully level? just the obvious way with a level (bubble containing) measure?
Click to expand...
I use my radius block like I would for leveling frets. I'll run straight lines down the fboard with a marker as a visual indicator while sanding so that I can see low spots... the low spots are where the marker doesn't sand off. I'll also check the fboard with a straightedge and feeler gauge.

hobbes1 said:
3. did you wrap the edges of the neck with masking tape or some other type? did you wait until full cure before removing the tape.
Click to expand...
Yes... lots of masking or painter's tape. I tape everything except the very top of the fboard. I'll remove the tape only when the epoxy has cured.


hobbes1 said:
4. do you think that this is a strictly neck-off the bass procedure or with taping, could it be done with the neck attached to the bass?
Click to expand...
I would advise removing the neck because it's easier to handle than a whole bass and there's less worry of getting epoxy, sandingdust and steelwool swarf all over the body and electrics. However with set necks and neck-thrus that's not an option so in those cases I wrap the body in plastic and tape up any openings.
 
#9
that was a really great reply. thanks so much for your time!
i feel a little better about tackling a project like this now.
it looks like fun, some work but overall, saving $400 or so over a commercial neck job or a pedulla neck also helps me feel good about it!
 
#10
JonathanF said:
I went the epoxy way and its gone pretty bad.
Click to expand...

That.

20 years ago I did a DIY job of epoxying a Rickenbacker 3001 fingerboard. I masked the sides of the fb with tape, used some industrial two-part epoxy (the same stuff I used to laminate the padauk cap to the maple body that I'd built for this bass), applied it with a roller...let it dry, sanded it w/ 600 grit paper, then applied another layer, let it dry, sanded that w/ 600 grit paper...

Meh, it still sucked.
 
#12
i posted a request at the Musical Instrument Makers forum and got some good replies:

1. from p. kirkham: "I've got nothing but great results with the cheapest basic airbrush I could find. I mist on varathane " diamond coat " for 5 coats then wetsand between coats till I hit 25 or so. A bass I did 10ish yrs. ago barely shows wear under the strings and is still glossy. The stuff is made for wear and tear on wood floors. Minwax version just stays too soft. "

2. from me: hi. thanks for the replies so far. after more digging i came up with some info that pointed to simteccoatings.com as the source for Pedulla's "diamondkote" fretboard coating. they have products specifically for guitar/basses. this, indeed, is shot using an HPLV or lacquer type gun. i have an old wagner spray paint gun but not sure if that would work. need to look into that. having never tried this technique before, can anyone provide tips on shooting this sort of stuff? eg: how'd you set up the neck, taping? some other way to protect the surroundings? anything on the mechanics of application would be helpful.

3. from d. king: "Simtec is about 50% of the production guitar market for polyester. It has NOTHING to do with varathane diamond coat or rattle can polyurethanes. It's just about the hardest stuff out there. You can't really apply it without a serious spray rig (it's much heavier than lacquer, 70% solids vs 15%), a booth and a bunny suit. Mostly be sure to clean your gun before it "goes off". You have a pot life of about 15-20 minutes, after that your gun is trash. Accuspray (I think) makes a clamshell gun that has replaceable teflon interior parts that you can buy for a modest cost compared to replacing a whole gun. Best to find someone who is already shooting the stuff and have them do it for you. Last I checked, (1999) Pedulla was charging $300 for doing just the fingerboard"


hopefully, this discussion will be helpful to others who might want to DIY coat a fretboard.
 
#13
Diogenes said:
I've been using Invalid Link Removed for more than 10 years and absolutely love it. It's application process for a fingerboard is easy enough but it involves quite a bit of elbow grease and sandpaper to get perfectly level. But once you have it right, the benefits are well worth the effort. I've tried polyurethanes, shellacs, cyanoacrylates, marine epoxies (Petit) and a few others but none seem to match the Envirotex Lite for longevity, feel and brightness.

It's all I will ever coat a fingerboard with now.

Here's a fingerboard I did several years ago before finish sanding:
Link Removed
Click to expand...


I too have used Envirotex Lite with very good results. it's very easy to work with.
 
#14
Diogenes said:
I've been using Invalid Link Removed for more than 10 years and absolutely love it. It's application process for a fingerboard is easy enough but it involves quite a bit of elbow grease and sandpaper to get perfectly level. But once you have it right, the benefits are well worth the effort. I've tried polyurethanes, shellacs, cyanoacrylates, marine epoxies (Petit) and a few others but none seem to match the Envirotex Lite for longevity, feel and brightness.

It's all I will ever coat a fingerboard with now.
Click to expand...

Did you pour it on or apply several coats?
 

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