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Fretboard finish cleaning/resealing help

gidbass

gidbass

Supporting Member
Aug 5, 2009
2,980
4,494
#1
I have a Dingwall JP with some fretboard finish wear.

It looks like the finish has started to wear, and has now trapped some dirt in it. I tried some foaming glass cleaner, but no luck.

Also, there were diamond shaped fret stickers at one point.

I was thinking of lightly sanding out the marks/wear as i think they are still just in the finish, and then using wipe satin poly to reseal it.

I do have some micro mesh cushioned abrasives that go from 1500 to 12000 so that was what i was going to use to smooth out any sanding issues i'm sure to create...

I've never done this before, so just wanted to see if i'm on or (way) off target on this.

Thanks in advance!

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#3
Beej said:
To me it looks less like trapped dirt and more like bare maple that has started greying with exposure to air/UV. There are some folks who are skilled at refinishing a fretboard with the frets still on it, but I'd personally probably do a refret and refinish it at the same time. :)
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Thats what I was afraid of, I have no issues with the frets, so maybe it becomes a "i'll just live with it" (for now) scenario.
 
#5
Naptha will definitely clean it out. The problem is, once the maple is exposed, it'll get dirty again real quick. Naptha may also destroy the finish, so test somewhere safe (neck heel or worst case back of the headstock).

If it were mine, and I wanted a good from 5 feet away result, I'd clean the whole thing with naptha, gently sand out the few sections that have wear, and touch them up with wiped-on satin poly. Then, if/when the frets ever wore enough to require a refret, do a proper refinish then. It's not so much the act of putting new finish on that is easier without frets in the way, it's removing the old finish and cleaning up the wood that's easier without the frets in the way. On a maple board, I like to apply finish once the frets are in place anyways.
 
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#6
dwizum said:
Naptha will definitely clean it out. The problem is, once the maple is exposed, it'll get dirty again real quick. Naptha may also destroy the finish, so test somewhere safe (neck heel or worst case back of the headstock).

If it were mine, and I wanted a good from 5 feet away result, I'd clean the whole thing with naptha, gently sand out the few sections that have wear, and touch them up with wiped-on satin poly. Then, if/when the frets ever wore enough to require a refret, do a proper refinish then. It's not so much the act of putting new finish on that is easier without frets in the way, it's removing the old finish and cleaning up the wood that's easier without the frets in the way. On a maple board, I like to apply finish once the frets are in place anyways.
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I think I'll probably end up giving this a try. At the very least, i want to contain the wear that has already occurred.

A couple of questions.

1. When testing naptha on the existing finish, how long until it reacts negatively, if at all?
2. When apply wipe poly finish with frets already in place, is there any concern about covering the frets at all?
3. If the frets do get a bit of poly on them, can that be scraped off carefully with a razor blade?

Thanks for your input.
 
#7
If the naptha will react negatively you'll know quick. My guess is that neck is some sort of modern finish (probably poly) and you'll be fine. If you're nervous, sometimes all it takes is a little very hot water and a scrubbing with a microfiber cloth.

No concern with getting poly on the frets. That's the most common process - poly right over the frets, and then the poly comes off when you level/crown/polish the frets. If you're not doing the fretwork, you can easily scrape the poly off if it gets on the frets.
 
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#8
I use an Ulfa snap-blade to scrape a dirty fretboard. Also good for leveling. Just make sure it's a new (sharp) blade and used w/o the handle. It should remove the ghosting and once clean - use satin wipe-on poly to seal it.
 
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