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Help a Noob defret and paint a fingerboard

ii7-V7

ii7-V7

Aug 4, 2002
748
258
Baltimore, MD
thedukeandduchesspodcast.com
#1
So, I've decided to defret my Squier Mustang. However, it has a maple board with black dots. I'm not a fan of that look on a fretless. I figured since I was going to coat the fingerboard anyway I might as well paint the fingerboard black.

I pulled the frets with no chipping. So far, so good. Then I sanded the board with a homemade radius block. I sanded quite a bit. Taped it up then used wood filler to fill the fret slots. I did two coats sanding between each coat. It looked and felt very smooth and flat. So far, so good....so I thought.

This evening I sprayed the neck with primer. I'm using Rustoleum spray paint cans. After hitting it with the primer I can see tons of uneven spots. I haven't tried sanding it yet. I'm waiting for it to cure overnight. Is this normal? I can't tell if it's the wood underneath that is uneven, or if the primer layed down unevenly. I planned to sand between each coating. Now, I'm wondering if I need to strip it down and sand the wood some more. How much does paint build up? Should I sand and hit it with another coat of primer, or should I just start applying base coats and hope it all evens out in the sanding process?
 
#2
I think you need to radius perfect first, you can't fix it later on with paint. Diagonal chalk lines and radius sanding would show up low spots too, no need to strip it off just sand to make smooth.

On another note, just paint is going to wear off quickly once you get strings hitting it, will probably look very unusual after a few months of playing it.
 
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#3
Firstly, post pictures from different angles so we can see what you mean by "tons of uneven spots".
How did you make your radius block? Are you sure it matches the radius exactly?
Did you make sure the neck was straight by adjusting the truss rod & checking with a straightedge, before you started sanding?

One way to help see what is going on is to shine light on the board at a shallow angle...like maybe point the beam of a flashlight down the length of the board & sight down the length from the other end.
You can also use a straightedge to periodically check flatness ...(provided you started with a flat neck.)
Rogerb is right about paint by itself not holding up to string abrasion, so since you want to change the color... you are going to want to coat it with epoxy anyway....so if it were me, I would sand the paint off and just tint epoxy whatever color you were planning on painting it.
Do a search for threads on epoxy coating a fretless fingerboard. You are going to need to put down a layer (or layers) of epoxy & sand that flat & bring it up to a nice polish for best results. There is plenty of info on doing just that, here on the forum.
 
#4
Well, what I ended up doing after many attempts and leveling, painting, and sanding was to go ahead and pour on some epoxy. So, after getting the paint the way I wanted it to be I layered down the epoxy using the "well" method. So, now I have a flat surface to work with and the paint below is protected.

My dilemma now is that my epoxy doesn't seem to be drying very well. It's been on for something like 11 days and it's still tacky in certain spots. So, I'm just trying to be patient.
 
#5
ii7-V7 said:
Well, what I ended up doing after many attempts and leveling, painting, and sanding was to go ahead and pour on some epoxy. So, after getting the paint the way I wanted it to be I layered down the epoxy using the "well" method. So, now I have a flat surface to work with and the paint below is protected.

My dilemma now is that my epoxy doesn't seem to be drying very well. It's been on for something like 11 days and it's still tacky in certain spots. So, I'm just trying to be patient.
Click to expand...
No epoxy I know of takes more than 24 hours to become completely cured.
What type / brand of epoxy did you use?
Are you sure you mixed both components of the epoxy in their correct proportions? And mixed them up thoroughly?
 
#7
Rôckhewer said:
No epoxy I know of takes more than 24 hours to become completely cured.
What type / brand of epoxy did you use?
Are you sure you mixed both components of the epoxy in their correct proportions? And mixed them up thoroughly?
Click to expand...

IME, System 3 Mirror Coat takes about 72 hours before it is completely cured. I could still leave finger prints in it after 24 hours.
 
#12
ii7-V7 said:
Me too....and it's mine. I should have just paid someone to do it.

I think that I've screwed this up at every possible turn. It's turning into a disaster. I don't even know if this neck can be salvaged at this point.
Click to expand...

What are the prospects for scraping the uncured epoxy from the board? I once made an attempt at applying some random epoxy to a board that I defretted and it just didn't work out. I can't recall how I removed it, but the neck survived. Good luck... At least it's not a super high-dollar neck.
 
#13
It's not super high dollar. If it was I wouldn't have attempted it myself.

My plan is to remove the epoxy somehow and try again with a different brand of epoxy. I think what has hurt me is that I keep trying to save money. I tried making my own radius block. It didn't work. I used cheap epoxy from Home Depot, etc. Instead of just getting the right items from the start I tried to go cheap and it's costing me.

If I can't remove the epoxy without damaging the neck I think I'll by a Bronco, take off the neck and take it to a pro.
 
#14
I'm afraid this neck is doomed and not worth time or effort to save it since it wasn't worth much to begin with. You learned an important lesson - if you're poor, you can't afford to be cheap.

What color/species fretboard and neck were you trying to get to? Buying a cheap bass just for the neck then spending more money to take to a luthier might not make sense either.
 
#15
neckdive said:
What color/species fretboard and neck were you trying to get to? Buying a cheap bass just for the neck then spending more money to take to a luthier might not make sense either.
Click to expand...
I'm trying to get a short scale fretless and I don't have the $$$ for a birdsong or landing. I'm less concerned with the looks. But, I figured that since I was going to coat the fretboard I might as well paint it before hand. I prefer a clean black fretboard with no lines. However, the paint wasn't the issue. I painted the neck and body and coated them with clear laquer. That part actually came out pretty good. It was getting the fretboard level and putting down the coating that screwed me up. Now I know why good fretless basses are expensive. The level of detail applied to the fingerboard is pretty significant.
 
#16
ii7-V7 said:
I'm trying to get a short scale fretless and I don't have the $$$ for a birdsong or landing. I'm less concerned with the looks. But, I figured that since I was going to coat the fretboard I might as well paint it before hand. I prefer a clean black fretboard with no lines. However, the paint wasn't the issue. I painted the neck and body and coated them with clear laquer. That part actually came out pretty good. It was getting the fretboard level and putting down the coating that screwed me up. Now I know why good fretless basses are expensive. The level of detail applied to the fingerboard is pretty significant.
Click to expand...
Look at the sx necks on rondo music, they have inexpensive fretless necks, and next time dye the wood, then coat it with epoxy
 
#18
Actually if you are applying epoxy in theory you don't need to spend much time radiusing the finger board, the epoxy will even things out when you pour it. Radiusing that epoxy that can take a while. How thick is the epoxy you've put on? If you brushed on epoxy or it is a thin coat even better for removing it, a thin coat won't last long against strings, kind of like the paint problem. Iif you use your radius block and some 40 grit sandpaper you should be able to knock it back down to the wood pretty fast, make sure you take off the epoxy first and don't get the block on an angle and start taking off more finger board.
 

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