what finish for a maple fingerboard?

[tom skool]

I'm in the procees of doing a refret on my columbus jazz and i would like to know what kind of finish to put back on it.
I like th idea of using an oil and I know lots of people use tung oil on rosewood finger boards but is it ok for maple. I'd rather not go down the polyurathane/laquer route if i can. Do i need worry about certain oils/waxes gumming up the strings?

[Ou7shined]

Unless you seal it with a lacquer etc. it will get dirty very quickly.

[tom skool]

the oil would seal it though wouldn't it?
I've left the lacquer on the rest of the neck, it just the finger board i need to re finish.

[ikay]

[quote name='tom skool' post='1002737' date='Oct 27 2010, 05:21 PM']the oil would seal it though wouldn't it?
I've left the lacquer on the rest of the neck, it just the finger board i need to re finish.[/quote]

EBMM use Birchwood Casey Tru-Oil to seal and finish their maple fingerboards. You can get it here - [url="http://www.ukcamo.com/items/item.aspx?itemid=546450"]http://www.ukcamo.com/items/item.aspx?itemid=546450[/url]

I've used this myself, it's easy to apply and buffs up to a nice satin finish.

[Colledge]

a bit more work, but on my 5er fretless project i finished the maple / sapele fretboard with Cyanoacrylate (superglue).
suprisingly little sanding and steel wool brought up a beautiful mirror finish and 6 months of roundwoulds have hardly made a mark.

[chris_b]

[quote name='Ou7shined' post='1002334' date='Oct 27 2010, 12:40 PM']....Unless you seal it with a lacquer etc. it will get dirty very quickly....[/quote]
And when you wear through the lacquer.

I was reading that orange oil is very good for cleaning dirty maple fretboards. Does anyone have any experience or knowledge of orange oil?

[henry norton]

[quote name='chris_b' post='1002846' date='Oct 27 2010, 07:41 PM']And when you wear through the lacquer.[/quote]
Unless it's a fretless it would take years to wear through the lacquer on a maple fingerboard. Don't worry too much so long as there's something protecting the finish. I'm about to try an acrylic finish on a maple board which is water based and much less offensive than 2 pack or even cellulose. I'll post up the results on the build diary section once I'm done.

[Al Heeley]

Depends how hard the lacquer is of course. Tru-oil is easier to get a good finish with as it's just rubbing on lots of very thin layers. I'f be nervous about doing 2-part PU unless I knew it was a really hard one and had access to proper coating / spray equipment.

[tom skool]

yeah oil requires a lot less skill and equipment. Plus i'm going to have the frets on to avoid getting finish in the slots so if i needed to do any sanding between coats it would be a right pain in the eye. Iknow i'd still need to burnish the oil between coats too but thats not so bad.
The tru oil seems like the stuff for me.

Anyone tried any other oils?
how about danish oil? it has shellac in it but might colour the wood to much maybe. I only ask coz i can get that at a local diy store

[BassBod]

Oil is fine for a fretted maple board, but you will have to keep it clean - not difficult, just a quick clean up and re-oil every couple of months. An alternative would be Rustins plastic coating. It can be thinned down and applied like oil, but will set hard and be very moisture/dirt proof.

[Mr. Foxen]

[quote name='tom skool' post='1004874' date='Oct 29 2010, 10:34 AM']Anyone tried any other oils?
how about danish oil? it has shellac in it but might colour the wood to much maybe. I only ask coz i can get that at a local diy store[/quote]

Danish oil is a bit unspecific, as there is no set formulation. Some won't have shellac, I know Rustins (my favoured) has tung oil, but it is coloured, it will give a honey shade to maple. See [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=101055&st=0"]my refinish thread[/url] to see the colour change from bare but old maple to Rustins Danish oiled. If you fret in such a way you rub against the board loads (shallow frets, lots of bends/rock style vibrato) it probably won't be very durable.