Fretboard Finish Treatment

[Mark Rowles]

Hey Guys...

I have nearly finished the Final Sanding of my first Bass Guitar Project, and the next steps will be to Stain the guitar and coat it with Polyurethane Finish. Do I coat the Fretboard with Polyurethane Finish as well, or is there another treatment I use for this? Your help is greatly appreciated....MARK

[Ned Knepp]

Hi Mark,
What material did you use for the fingerboard? Some of the others will probably kick in but I don't think any of the standard fingerboard woods are finished in this manner except Maple . Rosewood and ebony might have some oil wiped on to help seal them.

Ned

[Pierre-Antoine Roiron]

You can do whatever you want. Usually, woods like ebony, rosewood, wenge are not coated, just oiled, whereas maple fretboards are coated. On fretless instruments it has some influence on sound. So make your choice!

[Mark Rowles]

Hey guyz....

Thanx for getting back to me. Forgot to mention, the Fretboard is made from Sonokeling Rosewood. A friend suggested I should use Lemon Oil.Whatelse would you suggest? I've attached a photo of my last Project Diary Pic for Reference...Again, cheers for your help....MARK

[Rob Mercure]

Is "sonokeling" a specices of Dahlbergia? Almost looks likeCCa > - what's itlook like on a underside if you wet it with oil, water, or shellac?

Rob

[Pierre-Antoine Roiron]

Whatever oil will do the trick. I even use olive oil for the kitchen slabs. Go for the new petrol-free oils used by green floor makers. For what I know, lemon oil is nothing but some kind of flavoured naphta with a bit of oil.