Does anybody have any recommendations on how to safely remove the remaining bits of fret dots left on this bass without harming the fretboard?
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Dot Removal
- Thread starter Dustin Owens
- Start date
I'm not really sure what 'bits of fret dots left on the board' means. I wanted a blank board on my Ibanez when I got it. I painted the dots with brown model paint. With hundreds of hours playing , most are still covered.
I just traded for this bass, but I assume it was just from standard use over the years.
Light sandpaper or steel wool would probably do the trick, but don't go overboard
I posted a picture, I assume you cannot see it. There is not much left of them, but enough to make it look like a dirty fretboard.
Ah, sorry, I thought they were dot markers. Some kind of cleaner, I imagine. I'm not much help there. How about posting it in the 'Repair' Forum?
I agree with bassic, but I'd try merely scratching them off with your finger nail first, carefully of course, maybe even carefully using a razor blade
They aren't inlayed into the fretboard, it looks like they were just painted on the surface at some point. Here are some more photos for clarity of what I am talking about. I just want to remove them so the fretboard looks nice and clean. I don't need the dots on the front.
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Thank you for these suggestions. I was hoping it wouldn't come down to scratching or scraping. I suppose any kind of solvent would damage the fretboard. Lets see if anyone knows of a magic solution that could help do the trick gently.
Just like any wood crafting or finishing, you will carefully have to scrape or sand (buff) off any remaining contamination. Which BTW, usually dots are installed in holes drilled into the face of the fingerboard. So your white marks were probably just paint blob residue that someone had on there at one time, doesn't look like it really had dots before.
You might try one of these.
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They're safe for non-stick cookware and won't scratch the surface.
I've used similar pads to take the gloss off a bass neck without scratching the wood.
Just go easy and work with the grain.
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They're safe for non-stick cookware and won't scratch the surface.
I've used similar pads to take the gloss off a bass neck without scratching the wood.
Just go easy and work with the grain.
SirMjac28
Patiently Waiting For The Next British Invasion
I would take the strings off and use Goo Gone along with a small plastic paint scraper never letting the area get dry while you are gently scraping.
I'd start with the scotch bright pad, see if it works, and move on to 0000 steel wool if it doesn't. Whatever you use, the wood that you abrade will probably have a slightly lighter hue when you finally get all of what ever that stuff is off the fret board. Don't fret!
Give the whole fret board the same treatment, polish up the frets, and then give the whole thing a rub with some high quality lemon oil. You'll get a nice consistent look and a deep clean glow.
I'd favor the scotch brite pad over steel wool, if it does the job, because steel wool particulates, and the bits that fall off are attracted to pickups. If you go to steel wool, you might want to mask off the body with a plastic bag and some painter's masking tape.
Love to see a picture of the whole bass when it's done.
Give the whole fret board the same treatment, polish up the frets, and then give the whole thing a rub with some high quality lemon oil. You'll get a nice consistent look and a deep clean glow.
I'd favor the scotch brite pad over steel wool, if it does the job, because steel wool particulates, and the bits that fall off are attracted to pickups. If you go to steel wool, you might want to mask off the body with a plastic bag and some painter's masking tape.
Love to see a picture of the whole bass when it's done.
I actually took this rout with the scotch bright pad this morning and it worked great. I will go over the rest of it and give it an oil treatment next time I put new strings on. Thanks singlemalt, i'll be sure to post a photo once it is done.
All scrubbed off and cleaned up. As requested, here are the after pictures. Thank you for all of the great advice!
