Maple fretboard, does it need a sealed finish?

[subdude67]

I have a maple neck with maple fretboard that is finished with a poly clear coat. It has a yellow tint to it that doesn't match the body color and the poly has to come off. I know what I'll do with the neck but does the fretboard itself need a finish that covers and seals off the surface like the poly does or can it be preserved otherwise? Since I don't remember ever seeing a bare maple fretboard I assume the wood would wear away quickly if not somehow covered?
I would like the fretboard to preserve as much of it's naturally light color once it's sanded to look as natural as possible.
Thanks for any pointers on what the options are

 

[charlie monroe]

Maple needs to be sealed/finished. It will become very unattractive rather quickly if not.

I have heard claims that it is not necessary for roasted maple.

 

[subdude67]

Maple needs to be sealed/finished. It will become very unattractive rather quickly if not.

I have heard claims that it is not necessary for roasted maple.

Thanks, it isn't roasted for sure. You reckon it's a cosmetic issue, not to protect the wood from waering away?

 

[charlie monroe]

Likely both.

 

[dwizum]

It doesn't "need" a finish and it the finish isn't inherently there to prevent the wood from literally being worn away. Maple is pretty durable and does okay when left naked, in terms of durability.

However - it quickly discolors. Especially in reaction to skin oils. It'll look really splotchy and stained within a few weeks or months of regular playing if you leave it natural. After a few years it'll look downright nasty.

If you want it protected but don't want any amber tint at all, use a quality water based poly. They're plenty tough enough and generally have zero tint - they're crystal clear, unlike most oil based finishes which carry an amber tint.

You can also consider bleaching the wood if you want it even lighter/paler in color.

 

[subdude67]

It doesn't "need" a finish and it the finish isn't inherently there to prevent the wood from literally being worn away. Maple is pretty durable and does okay when left naked, in terms of durability.

However - it quickly discolors. Especially in reaction to skin oils. It'll look really splotchy and stained within a few weeks or months of regular playing if you leave it natural. After a few years it'll look downright nasty.

If you want it protected but don't want any amber tint at all, use a quality water based poly. They're plenty tough enough and generally have zero tint - they're crystal clear, unlike most oil based finishes which carry an amber tint.

You can also consider bleaching the wood if you want it even lighter/paler in color.

Good info, thanks!
I have only a very limited access to the kind of products that you can buy round the corner, I should have mentioned that. So that option is out
I play lightly, hardly ever bending the strings so if the wood can take it I would prefer a protection so that it doesn't get all ugly and disgusting but doesn't tint the maple too much. Is there something you can think of?

 

[charlie monroe]

Something like this should work.

 

[chinjazz]

Something like this should work.


View attachment 3830473

That’s pretty much what I use. Very easy to work with. Here’s a maple board I did while ago:

Birdseye Fretboard - Durable wipe on finish

 

[JIO]

Something like this should work.


View attachment 3830473

I also recommend the wipe-on poly - easy, looks good, feels good - seals good.

 

[Spirit of Ox]

Have you looked into Tru Oil? It wipes on and seals well. Birchwood Casey is supposed to be the best. It's a gun stock oil but unlike linseed oil it provides a protective finish.

 

[subdude67]

Have you looked into Tru Oil? It wipes on and seals well. Birchwood Casey is supposed to be the best. It's a gun stock oil but unlike linseed oil it provides a protective finish.

Thanks for the tip, unfortunately it is not available here.

 

[dwizum]

What products are you actually able to get?

Water based poly is the best way to avoid amber tint and add protection that I'm familiar with and it seems you can't get it there. The only other water-clear-no-tint option I can think of is to use CA and coat it like people do with fretless boards - that's pretty clear. You might be able to find a coating epoxy that's water clear, but some of them get an amber tint as they age. Some of the UV cured finishes are water-clear but they're rather exotic and if you can't even get water based poly I doubt those are available.

All the other finishes people commonly use (tru oil, oil based poly, etc) will have an amber tint. Pretty much all oil-based finishes have some degree of tint.

 

[HaMMerHeD]

Roasted or not, maple will draw moisture in from the air, and is more prone to becoming rough in texture and discolored without a finish. Of course it draws moisture even with a finish, but more slowly and evenly, I think.

I've noticed this happening with Hard maple more than other woods, though I'm sure it happens with other species as well. But if you sand, scrape, or plane it glassy smooth, and let it sit for a few days, when you come back to it, it'll noticeably more rough. Feeling and looking closely, I've seen that the surface fibers tend to swell a bit, having absorbed moisture. Putting even a thin application of shellac or oil prevents this from happening. I live in Oklahoma, so this may be due to humidity, but it does happen.

 

[subdude67]

What products are you actually able to get?.

I bought a can of clear "wood care" today, its viscosity is very similar to a wood stain. I tested it on the headstock today and to my delight it leaves the wood totally unchanged. The only drawback is that it takes 8 hours to dry.

I will post some pics later showing the details.

 

[iiipopes]

Leo Fender found this out in the 50's with the early maple necks. The story is when he saw a player with worn and discolored maple neck on TV, he thought it unsightly, and that's why he went to Rosewood fret boards on the Jazzmaster when introduced in 1958, the Strat 1959, and everything else shortly thereafter.

 

[vid1900]

Water based poly wears so quickly, I would never recommend it.

It always says funny things on the can like "10x harder than oil poly!!!!!", but that's just nonsense.

It also has terrible build, so you need 5 coats of water based to equal one coat of poly.

20 years of water based, and it's still not ready for prime time lol

 

[Beej]

Water based poly wears so quickly, I would never recommend it.

It always says funny things on the can like "10x harder than oil poly!!!!!", but that's just nonsense.

It also has terrible build, so you need 5 coats of water based to equal one coat of poly.

20 years of water based, and it's still not ready for prime time lol

Welcome... .... to the dark side....

Using water based products for instrument finishing, Target Coatings 9000 6000 and Varathane WB

 

[rudy4444]

I've recommended Min-wax satin finish wipe-on poly for several years. NOT the water-based version, though. There's no particular reason to use the water-based version as the oil-based stuff is super easy to use and isn't that much of a problem for clean-up. I make "fads" (application pads) from soft finish cotton scrap and throw them away after each application. A pair of disposable gloves makes for a totally easy cleanup regimen.

I have a standard "3 coats of poly in 12 hours" procedure that works well for me. Years ago I used Tru-oil but got really tired of needing 15 or 20 coats to get any appreciable build with it. It also took way TOO LONG to do. All those coats and the requisite drying time just made for an impractical finish, especially when I was marketing custom lap steels.

It's possible that Min-wax water-based is now "OK", but I don't mess with success.

I picked up a can of the Varathane water-based that Bruce and others are experimenting with, but haven't had the type of instrument project I'd want to use it on yet.

Just to throw something else out there, I've been experimenting with Osmo Polyx "hard oil" as a neck surface finish and I'm pretty impressed with it so far. I'll know more after a few hundred more hours of playing time.

 

[Matt Liebenau]

Hopefully not to derail the thread too much but there’s a number of good finish systems out there as the variety of recommendations in this thread will attest. I know some people will fight to the death that theirs is the one, true and holy finish but I’d really say that some of it is choosing the right finish for the application which can vary and a lot of it is choosing a finishing system and learning how it works and how to make it work it’s best for instruments. In the OP’s case it seems the choice may be to figure out how to make what’s available work for an instrument. See, I brought it back around!

 

[subdude67]

Here is a comparison of the headstock with the top half coated and the bottom half still bare. Once the clear is dry it leaves a hard satin surface that can be buffed to gloss if necessary.