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The pros and cons of epoxy.

Benjamin Strange

Benjamin Strange

Commercial User
Dec 25, 2002
9,737
310
49
New Orleans, LA
www.ufodeathcult.com
Disclosures
Owner / Tech: Strange Guitarworks
#1
I'm in process of converting my Ovation Magnum to a fretless, and I'm considering applying epoxy to the ebony fretboard. I'm curious if anybody else here has gone through the process, and what they think of the results. I'm not totally sold on the idea, but I don't want to chew through a fretboard every two years or so. I have no experience playing an epoxied bass, and I'd like to get fellow TBer's opinions.

Epoxy? Yay or nay?
 
#4
I've epoxied rosewood... 2 part marine stuff.

Sounds great, lots of mwah. It'll score as quick as the ebony... might last a bit longer between resurfacings. Ease up on the fretting hand and don't do cross string vibrato and even raw rosewood will last a good long while (A LOT more than 2 years).
 
#5
I epoxied my rosewood jazz... Took it off right away....the sound is SOOO much better on the wood... no comparison in my book.

If it's decent rosewood ..I think the epoxie wears out just as quick..
P.S.
I like rosewood better than ebony (for sound)
Ebony is harder though....
 
#6
FL Knifemaker said:
I would think that the decision would be based on what the fretboard material is. If it's ebony, why bother with epoxy?? Even with rounds it will only wear superficially.
Click to expand...

Kinda depends on how much you play the fretless. I'd probably say that a majority of bassists will play fretless occasionally, if at all. If this is the case, you might be able to get away with roundwounds on softer woods like rosewood. If this is your main bass, putting a thin layer of epoxy, polyester, or even superglue might not be a bad idea. I can honestly say that if I only had my Cirrus fretless, I probably would have needed 1-2 leveling jobs since going fretless.

Another pro to the epoxy process is that it can seal the fingerboard, making it less responsive to changes in humidity.

One pro/con of the coated fingerboard is often the added brightness. This might be desired or might not. I'm really diggin' my polyester coated CB Bass, although it could be considered too bright if it didn't have a nice 3 band pre. Chris Stambaugh uses a thin level of superglue that offers nice protection and doesn't seem to have much tonal impact.
 
#7
spade2you said:
Kinda depends on how much you play the fretless. I'd probably say that a majority of bassists will play fretless occasionally, if at all. If this is the case, you might be able to get away with roundwounds on softer woods like rosewood. If this is your main bass, putting a thin layer of epoxy, polyester, or even superglue might not be a bad idea. I can honestly say that if I only had my Cirrus fretless, I probably would have needed 1-2 leveling jobs since going fretless.

Another pro to the epoxy process is that it can seal the fingerboard, making it less responsive to changes in humidity.

One pro/con of the coated fingerboard is often the added brightness. This might be desired or might not. I'm really diggin' my polyester coated CB Bass, although it could be considered too bright if it didn't have a nice 3 band pre. Chris Stambaugh uses a thin level of superglue that offers nice protection and doesn't seem to have much tonal impact.
Click to expand...

Crazy Glue or Cyanoacrylate is MUCH harder than any epoxy that I know of. It also takes a mirror polish. Acryglass is the hardest epoxy I've ever used worked with. It's used for bedding rifle barrels and actions. If I was going to do a fretless board, I'd go with Cyano!! On soft wood, no matter what you use, you need a layer thick enough to support itself over the wood. I run into the same situation with using softer woods for knife handles. The surface ends up hard as a rock but the wood will still compress (dent) underneath it.
 
#11
I don't know about using it on a fret board, but I have a bit of experience with marine grade epoxy. I sailed for 25 years and lived aboard my boat for a couple. Was too poor to pay a boat yard to do the work, so had to learn/do it myself.

There are 2 "major" brands of marine grade epoxy. There are others, but these are the biggies.

1. West Systems - Widely used, but not by me. Not that it isn't good stuff, just not compatible with subsequent finishes that I wanted to use.
2. Interlux
A. Interprotect 1000 - This is much too thick for this type use. Set's very quickly. Doesn't soak in very well because of the thickness. Hard as a rock has a slight yellow tint.
B. Epiglass - Mixes very thin. Sets hard in an hour or so. To my eye, is crystal clear. This is similar to West Systems, but in my opinion, a better grade of epoxy. If I were going to protect wood with epoxy, this would be how I would go. However, there are inherent problems with sealing wood with epoxy. The major being that it traps moisture in the wood and can cause rotting over time. Also, if there is any oil in the wood, under the epoxy, it will cause dark or black spots over time.

Again, I stress that I don't have experience with using epoxy on a fretboard...boats only.

For what it's worth,
Dan
 

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