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Post by muddy056 on Apr 11, 2023 21:03:19 GMT
Love reading all the great info on this forum so I though i would ask you all for a little advice. The Fret board on my woody, which i though was blackwood? similar to the nice fret boards on my blues 28 and lightning , however unlike the MM guitars it has a hazy white patina, is there a way to treat the fretboard to achieve a more solid black color? it's purely cosmetic but i really love playing this little guitar.
Anthony
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Post by pete1951 on Apr 11, 2023 21:36:42 GMT
The classic treatment for finger boards is Lemon Oil. Available at most large music shops. You don’t need much ( a small bottle will last years) . There are probably YouTube videos showing how. Pete
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Post by Michael Messer on Apr 11, 2023 22:19:19 GMT
You should only treat real wood fretboards with lemon oil. If your fretboard is some type of Blackwood, then can you post a photo so I can advise you correctly.
Shine On Michael
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Post by muddy056 on Apr 11, 2023 23:09:10 GMT
Hi Michael here is a shot of the board thanks for your help. Anthony Attachments:
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Post by Michael Messer on Apr 12, 2023 8:21:27 GMT
Hi Anthony, I have not seen that before, but I don't think it is anything to worry about. Maybe give it a good clean with a toothbrush and then a bit of polish. We polish most MM Blackwood fretboards with a little La Tromba Lacquer polish on a lambswool electric polisher. La Tromba, if you don't know about it, is a fantastic polish for your guitars. It is superb on nickel plated and painted finishes. I use it on all MM and my own guitars. I don't use it on real wood fretboards, I clean them with lemon oil, as suggested by Pete. www.thomann.de/gb/la_tromba_lackpolitur.htmShine On Michael
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Post by Dolando on Apr 12, 2023 12:31:42 GMT
0000 wire wool is worth a go. Light enough it doesn’t leave scratches, but still enough to potentially remove it. And smooth any rough parts from manufacturing. It will also slightly polish your frets too.
If you feel confident enough you could use a scraper and scrape the board. That should do it. Just make sure you put equal pressure from fret to fret, otherwise you will get odd stop points.
Oil wise, lemon oil won’t do it any harm. I’ve used lemon oil and almond oil and both work great, lemon oil is easier to find. The oil will darken it naturally. Just spread it out evenly and only needs to be left on for a minute or so. If it drinks it in and goes patchy, do it again. Means the board is really dry.
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Post by Pickers Ditch on Apr 12, 2023 12:38:28 GMT
I have a bass which had a fretboard like that.
Tried lemon oil - not too good at getting the white stuff out of the grain so reverted to the use of Dark Brown Briwax. Briwax comes in a variety of different colours. Followed the instructions on the tin and now have a nice waxed deep dark shine fretboard. I used a tooth brush to rub it deep into the grain. ...and beware, use it outdoors as it contains toluene (the toluene free version is useless!)
proviso: check it on a tiny bit of fretboard first to check there are no adverse effects.
Best of luck whichever way you may go. PD
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Post by Michael Messer on Apr 12, 2023 13:16:35 GMT
0000 wire wool is worth a go. Light enough it doesn’t leave scratches, but still enough to potentially remove it. And smooth any rough parts from manufacturing. It will also slightly polish your frets too. If you feel confident enough you could use a scraper and scrape the board. That should do it. Just make sure you put equal pressure from fret to fret, otherwise you will get odd stop points. Oil wise, lemon oil won’t do it any harm. I’ve used lemon oil and almond oil and both work great, lemon oil is easier to find. The oil will darken it naturally. Just spread it out evenly and only needs to be left on for a minute or so. If it drinks it in and goes patchy, do it again. Means the board is really dry. No... this fretboard is not solid wood! ...so please do not offer advice that could permanently damage the Blackwood Tek fretboard. Shine On Michael
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Post by Dolando on Apr 12, 2023 14:24:19 GMT
0000 wire wool is worth a go. Light enough it doesn’t leave scratches, but still enough to potentially remove it. And smooth any rough parts from manufacturing. It will also slightly polish your frets too. If you feel confident enough you could use a scraper and scrape the board. That should do it. Just make sure you put equal pressure from fret to fret, otherwise you will get odd stop points. Oil wise, lemon oil won’t do it any harm. I’ve used lemon oil and almond oil and both work great, lemon oil is easier to find. The oil will darken it naturally. Just spread it out evenly and only needs to be left on for a minute or so. If it drinks it in and goes patchy, do it again. Means the board is really dry. No... this fretboard is not solid wood! ...so please do not offer advice that could permanently damage the Blackwood Tek fretboard. Shine On Michael 🙄 Im just giving advice from my own experiences. Lemon oil is so non invasive I’ve personally never found a problem when using it on anything, and I’ve used it on all sorts from hardwoods to dyed and veneered fingerboards and Rocklite boards.
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Post by pete1951 on Apr 12, 2023 14:51:55 GMT
🙄 Im just giving advice from my own experiences. Lemon oil is so non invasive I’ve personally never found a problem when using it on anything, and I’ve used it on all sorts from hardwoods to dyed and veneered fingerboards and Rocklite boards.
[/quote] Though I have no experience of the model in question, the finger board looks like some sort of ‘ply’ rather than solid wood. I don’t think ( from the photo) that it is a modern composite material. Michael has more experience of all sorts of resonator guitars, so may have had one of these in his hands, 0000 wire wool could leave very fine scratches on a composite but on wood ( even ply ) they should be no problem . Frets may need polishing if you do a lot of fret bending. I also think lemon oil will be fine. Pete
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Post by Pickers Ditch on Apr 12, 2023 14:56:16 GMT
0000 wire wool is worth a go. Light enough it doesn’t leave scratches, but still enough to potentially remove it. And smooth any rough parts from manufacturing. It will also slightly polish your frets too. If you feel confident enough you could use a scraper and scrape the board. That should do it. Just make sure you put equal pressure from fret to fret, otherwise you will get odd stop points. Oil wise, lemon oil won’t do it any harm. I’ve used lemon oil and almond oil and both work great, lemon oil is easier to find. The oil will darken it naturally. Just spread it out evenly and only needs to be left on for a minute or so. If it drinks it in and goes patchy, do it again. Means the board is really dry. No... this fretboard is not solid wood! ...so please do not offer advice that could permanently damage the Blackwood Tek fretboard. Shine On Michael Re: my Briwax experience and suggestion - my bass fretboard looked remarkably like the one in Anthony's photo but I haven't a clue if it is real tree wood or a modified cellulosic product so be very careful. Perhaps contacting the Blackwood Tek manufacturers asking why the occasional fretboard take on this appearance may be an idea? Although the fact that MM uses the stuff on his guitars tells me that his suggestion must be the way to go.
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Post by Michael Messer on Apr 12, 2023 15:21:24 GMT
My apologies for yelling, but when offering advice to someone asking how to do something to their fretboard, we must be sure that we are offering the correct advice. Dave King and I decided it was not advisable to clean these fretboards with lemon oil because it might soften it, or something.
We actually find this blackwood better than the rosewood we were using. It is really strong and works great.
Maybe an email to Blackwood Terk is a good idea :-) I will speak with them and find out more.
Shine On Michael
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Post by zero on Apr 12, 2023 17:45:08 GMT
Lemon Oil is best left to music store owners who change customers strings and want them to smell nice. Funny how know one mentions Boiled Linseed Oil which is by far the traditional luthier treatment for fingerboards and has been for decades.
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Post by muddy056 on Apr 12, 2023 19:45:13 GMT
Thanks for the help guysI ordered a bottle of polish Michael recommended and will give it a try Anthony
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Post by muddy056 on Apr 12, 2023 19:50:24 GMT
Interested in what Blackwood tech recommends
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