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roundwound scratches on fretless ebonol


steve-bbb
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does anybody know if is possible to clean up scratches on an ebonol coated fretless?

if it were just plain rosewood i could just take some sandpaper to it i guess but what about this ebonol?

my first guess is a very very fine abrasive paper followed by polish or cutting compound or something?

the pic below is my recent purchase - i bought it as seen so not complaining about the condition - it doesnt affect the sound at all except i believe in one particular spot - E on the 9th position on the G string - always buzzes when you fret it exactly on pitch - im guessing this is due to the finer guage of the string - so it then occured to me that maybe i could polish it out or if not eliminate completely then maybe reduce the effect

not too worried about the cosmetic issues but would liek to stop the buzzing on the G string at 9th

here is a pic - please note i took this with a light source place at extreme side on angle just to demonstrate the effect better in the pic - under regular lighting conditions it doesnt look anywhere near as drastic as this



thanks

sorry nearly forgot to mention - its a squier VM J :)

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Squier VMJ? Nice. Looks like the previous owner was using 'fretted' vibrato technique... I've got the same sort of wear on my Mighty Mite ebanol board, so I'd be interested in any replies too.
I've used 1200 paper on it before now, but that's not ideal.

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http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Emery-Cloth-Polishing-Kit-Micro-Mesh-Sanding-Sheet-MicroMesh-Abrasive-Finishing-/221078302349

I've used this micro-mesh finishing paper set on an ebanol board with good results (1500 to 12000 grit). Ebanol shows every little mark and you need to steadily work your way up through the finer grades to get a polished finish. Wear a face mask as the ebanol dust gets everywhere.

The white plastic fret lines on the VMJ ebanol boards can also cause isolated buzzing if their not perfectly flush. Before you tackle finishing the whole board it may be worth checking the 'fret' where you're getting the buzz.

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  • 2 weeks later...

[quote name='ikay' timestamp='1364125382' post='2022069']
[url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Emery-Cloth-Polishing-Kit-Micro-Mesh-Sanding-Sheet-MicroMesh-Abrasive-Finishing-/221078302349"]http://www.ebay.co.u...g-/221078302349[/url]

I've used this micro-mesh finishing paper set on an ebanol board with good results (1500 to 12000 grit). Ebanol shows every little mark and you need to steadily work your way up through the finer grades to get a polished finish. Wear a face mask as the ebanol dust gets everywhere.

The white plastic fret lines on the VMJ ebanol boards can also cause isolated buzzing if their not perfectly flush. Before you tackle finishing the whole board it may be worth checking the 'fret' where you're getting the buzz.
[/quote]

thanks for this - i did spend a bit of time looking at it again and noticed that the fret lines can be felt but it really is very minimal but might be enough to cause the buzzing

im liking the sound of the micro mesh

apologies for late repy - too much time spent loitering in off topic :D

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ok progress report - stage 1 complete

removed nut and removed neck from body

attacked it with some 600 grade wet&dry using it wrapped around rubber sanding block with soapy water to stop the dust

i expected to take quite a bit of rubbing to get down enough to even out the grooves from the strings but as the grooves were not all that deep AND the ebonol is actually much softer than i anticipated only needed about 3-4 dozen strokes and it was done

the finish is now very smooth to the touch and if you werent bothered about comsetics, would be playable as it is now - however the 600 grade doesnt leave any scratches visible to the naked eye but the abrasive marks being very fine does still produce a significant amount of greying to the surface - if the body was an old dog i would just use it as it is, but as the vmJ is rather a fine looking specimen i will make the extra effort to get some micromesh or maybe try some cutting/polishing paste to reduce the greying effect and gloss up the finish a bit more

Edited by steve-bbb
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[quote name='steve-bbb' timestamp='1365236438' post='2036965']
but the abrasive marks being very fine does still produce a significant amount of greying to the surface
[/quote]
This is where you need the micro-mesh. Steadily work up through the grits and the polish will come back.

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[quote name='ikay' timestamp='1365244087' post='2037095']
This is where you need the micro-mesh. Steadily work up through the grits and the polish will come back.
[/quote]

just doing it now with some 1200 grade - the greying is much less now so that it doesnt look so much grey more like a nice sort of satin matt finish

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this is how it is looking after the 1200 grade - still a bit grey out in bright sunlight - not glossy at all very satin matt at the moment but perfectly usable and functional if you werent fussy - the small scratches at the bottom left (and a couple of other small spots) of pic are all thats left of the deepst roundwound scratches - i only sanded as far as getting rid of as much as possible without removing too much material and im sure once polished and strung up they will be barely noticeable - its certainly a massive improvement on how it was before

Edited by steve-bbb
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after the 1200 grade i then used a microfibre cloth wrapped around the rubber sanding block to polish out the fine scratches with T-Cut

the end result - no greying or visible scratches - the satin finish is gone and it looks more polished

it is not as glossy as the ebonol is when new from the factory, however the amount of gloss and shine it now has is more comparable to a piece of real ebony, and because it has a less 'lacquered' appearance now compared to new, there is also wood grain pattern showing through the ebonol -very pleased with the end result as it looks much more organic than the original high gloss finish - now to find some black nylon wounds and see if the gotoh bridge will set up without the need for shimming the neck :) (will post pic of the finished result when i get some sunshine here to take a decent pic!)

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