remove marks from a phenolic fretboard

[ialma]

Hey friends,
I've been using instruments with graphite necks and phenolic fretboard from some years.
I was considering to buy a fretless but phenolic fretboard has all sort of white roundwound scratches.
Since I have no luthier experience I have a couple of questions for experienced ones :
I've read sanding will solve the problem but :
1) what happens if FB is really worn out ?
2) will sanding remove the fb color ?
3) is phenolic resin color naturally white
Thanks

 

[ialma]

Anyone, really ?

 

[JoshyWashy]

Bump. This a great question but unfortunately i have no idea hopefully someone has some knowledge on the subject.

 

[darkblack99]

'1) what happens if FB is really worn out ?'

It's rubbish. Phenolic resin compressed with fiber is a cheap material to manufacture, and not super-durable over time unlike carbon graphite. Moisture/humidity, finger oils and string wear from roundwounds on a fretless are the main culprits of damage. You could level the string wear via radius sanding and top-coat epoxy for the fill but what's the point of that labor on a cheap fingerboard? One of my instruments is a Squier 'Jaco' fretless that has had Rotosounds chewing into the FB for years - the effect created is now part of the tone color, accentuating the characteristics of the 'mwah' (if you will) but a few more micrometers in and it's new neck time.

'2) will sanding remove the fb color ?'

Not entirely but it will 'lighten' it (ebony/black to dark/mottled grey) by abrading the top layer(s) of resin/clear coat, and will obviously dull the gloss of the finish also.

'3) is phenolic resin color naturally white'

No - the resins used range in color from yellow to red/brown. The ebony tone in Ebonal-type phenolics comes from the fibers used (black dyed paper).

Hope some of this helps. YMMV

 

[ialma]

Thanks for the answers, I was thinking of Modulus and Zon fretboards, not Squiers.
Now I understand why Zon moved to resin impregnated birch layers for their fretboards, but I'm still curious to know which material was used on Modulus phenolic fretboards.
It should be (hopefully) different from ebonol's dyed paper but it scratches too, nonetheless.
Which is insane, considering the price.

This is a Modulus fretboard

 

[David Jayne]

I'd just ignore it, but if you can't live with it I'd sand it lightly with a radius block (gotta first find out which radius, obviously) then go over it with dark wood stain. The stain won't stick to the lines very well and should come up white as you buff it out. No big deal. It's nowhere near worn out.