I play a MIM Fender J that I recently had defretted. What brands of epoxy would you recommend to coat the fretboard with?
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Epoxy on Rosewood Fretboard
- Thread starter matdras
- Start date
I just finished an epoxy job on a fretless J. I used Envirotex Lite.
If I had to do it again I would use the West Systems 105/207 combination, as the Envirotex was hard to measure correctly (I like to measure by weight: West Systems publishes the weight ratio's) and takes a VERY long time to cure.
If I had to do it again I would use the West Systems 105/207 combination, as the Envirotex was hard to measure correctly (I like to measure by weight: West Systems publishes the weight ratio's) and takes a VERY long time to cure.
I'm curious, as I'm about to go through the whole process and I have bought the Envirotex. How long is long?
Also, any specific recs about it?
Also, any specific recs about it?
Envirotex seems to be HIGHLY temperature dependent. At 50F, it took over 24 hours to set to tacky, and over a week to cure to full hardness. At 70F it was supposed to be better but I had to do this in my garage. Of course all epoxies suffer from this problem, but Envirotex appears to be especially sensitive.
Additionally, Envirotex is not exactly rock hard, and it loaded up sandpaper in two or three swipes. It cures somewhat flexible and plasticky which means it's likely very durable for fretboard use. But it probably isn't as bright as a hard glass-like epoxy like West System.
I went through 50 sheets of sandpaper to radius the neck to 12", starting at 100 grit and going through 180, 220, 320, 400, 600, and 800 grits. Even the 100 grit only lasted perhaps 5 strokes before it was loaded with epoxy and useless. 800 grit literally lasted only 1 or 2 strokes.
I'm writing up a how-to for my fretless thread that showed the exact sequence I went through.
I've used CA glue. It's probably not as hard as epoxy, but maybe worth looking into. It was pretty easy, and I'm happy with how it turned out.
I've never coated a fretboard with the west systems epoxy, but I will say that it's relatively nice stuff to work with. It cures relatively slowly, but seems to get nice and hard. I used it to glue in some carbon rods in a neck I was building and sanded off the excess. It sanded nicely. Didn't plug up the paper too badly.
It's also nice that they sell it with pumps to accurately meter your mix, and also publish the weights in case you can't use the pumps for some reason. It's kind of nice to just do 1 pump of resin, 1 pump of hardener and mix.
I've never coated a fretboard with the west systems epoxy, but I will say that it's relatively nice stuff to work with. It cures relatively slowly, but seems to get nice and hard. I used it to glue in some carbon rods in a neck I was building and sanded off the excess. It sanded nicely. Didn't plug up the paper too badly.
It's also nice that they sell it with pumps to accurately meter your mix, and also publish the weights in case you can't use the pumps for some reason. It's kind of nice to just do 1 pump of resin, 1 pump of hardener and mix.
A wipe-on Tung Oil finish. Better yet: Tru-Oil, as used on rifle stocks. It's not for build-up as much as protecting an already leveled fingerboard. I've also used it on ouds, which are fretless middle-eastern lutes with wound strings, and where the fingerboard is sometimes a relatively soft walnut.
The one on the right has an ebony fingerboard, just to show what an oud looks like. They're tuned much like a 6 string fretless.
The one on the right has an ebony fingerboard, just to show what an oud looks like. They're tuned much like a 6 string fretless.
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- Dec 20, 2004
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- Player-Builder-Founder: Honey Badger Pickups & Regenerate Guitar Works
I use System3 on my epoxied fingerboards
85% of the work is properly preparing your fingerboard for the epoxy coating - and this includes NOT using bondo, wood filler, etc to fill the fret slots.
10% is properly masking to keep epoxy from where it shouldn't go.
4% is measuring, mixing, and applying properly IAW the mfr directions.
all that remains is the easy part of leveling the epoxy after it's [if]fully[/i] cured using proper wet sanding techniques and with high quality papers of the appropriate grits. if you do everything right, the final buffing for a mirror shine is child's play
epoxy finishing a fingerboard is a lot of work. don't be fooled into thinking otherwise
all the best,
R
85% of the work is properly preparing your fingerboard for the epoxy coating - and this includes NOT using bondo, wood filler, etc to fill the fret slots.
10% is properly masking to keep epoxy from where it shouldn't go.
4% is measuring, mixing, and applying properly IAW the mfr directions.
all that remains is the easy part of leveling the epoxy after it's [if]fully[/i] cured using proper wet sanding techniques and with high quality papers of the appropriate grits. if you do everything right, the final buffing for a mirror shine is child's play
epoxy finishing a fingerboard is a lot of work. don't be fooled into thinking otherwise
all the best,
R
Neither Tung Oil or Tru-Oil are very hard finishes. I'm not going to say they're bad or anything, but for a really hard finish that's going to stand up to round-wounds on a fretless I think Epoxy is probably the best, and CA seems to work reasonably well too.
I'm just speaking from an engineering standpoint though. I don't play enough fretless to have really done any significant damage to a fretboard, hardened or otherwise. I suspect that in many cases even an unprotected board would stand up alright depending on the wood, and the bassist.
I would agree with this. If you don't want the fret lines, filling the fret slots seems pretty pointless.
OTOH, If you wanted the lines, bondo or wood putty can do a half decent job of it. Not something I would do on a really high end bass, but if you're just trying to put some new life into a cheap old bass you never play, careful work is probably more important than the specific materials you use.
I've read all sorts of horror stories about people wrecking their stuff trying to to a Jaco with a butter knife, but I have a feeling most of them are sloppy work. I did my fretless in an evening with very basic tools and cheap materials, and I think the result is pretty decent. Yeah, you can see some zig-zag from the fret tangs, but it's pretty minimal, and it doesn't change the way it plays. (I suck at fretless, so I wanted the lines anyways)
Even with CA, which is definitely easier, I spent far more time on the fretboard than on applying the glue.
To be 100% clear though, Those percentages are the amount of work, and not the importance of that work.
In my experience, most of my major screwups are on minor simple tasks. A perfectly prepared and masked off board is still going to be junk if you improperly measure your epoxy and end up with a tacky mess that never cures correctly.
(I'm pretty sure that's what Rodent is getting at, but didn't want anyone to underestimate the importance of that 4%)
-Nick
So would it be reasonable to conclude that it's better to buy a bass with a fretless ebony fingerboard rather than get one with a rosewood fingerboard with the intention of applying epoxy to it?
