Neck Preparations for Finish.

[TonyFlyingSquirrel]

I'm debating on finishing the neck on my Baritone Tele when I have it dis-assembled for the leather work soon.

I know I have to tape off the surface of the Rosewood fingerboard, and over the nut area.

My question is regarding once all finish has been applied, tape removed, and then final treatment before re-assembly.

I'll be treating/dressing the fret ends at this time as the neck did not need any further leveling.

To avoid any chipping & such, how do some of you handle this? 

Do you roll the edges of the fingerboard at this time using lighter sandpapers & such? 

Do you use steel wool?

I've only refinished bodies, and left the necks alone because I've always gone for the rawness when using the maple/maple or maple/rosewood neck combo, but I want some finish on this one.

 

[Cagey]

I use 3M's Flexible Polishing Papers once I get to where I want to finish the frets. That is, after they've been levelled, crowned, and dressed.

It's not really paper or cloth, it's some other kind of material that's fairly strong and very flexible and conforms well to compound surfaces.

In the middle picture above, you can see where he's sort of "stropping" a string nut. I do the same sort of thing, only with the frets. Cut a strip about 3/4" to 1" wide, lay it over the fingerboard perpendicular to it, and while holding either end of the paper and pulling it down just ride it back and forth on the fret. This puts beautiful ends on the frets just using the "green" paper, which is roughly equivalent to a 400 grit paper. Follow that with strips of the "gray" and the "blue" grits (600 - 1200 grits) to really polish them up nice.

In the lower picture above you see him using a stainless steel fret mask, and while that'll work, it's a real chore. To polish the main surface of the frets it's much easier to use strips as I've described along with your crowning file to drive the polishing paper back and forth across the frets.

Rather than use that fret guard, just tape off the 'board using 3M's multi-surface blue "painters tape". It's slippery enough and doesn't see enough pressure from the polishing papers to get cut through. Run the tape around the ends of the fretboard so as to mask off the finished surface.

That's enough to protect it from your files and the polishing papers both unless you're really letting go of some suppressed anger that day <grin>

Once you're done, some naptha will clean off any tape residue you may have without harming your finish. Although, I must say I haven't used naptha on an oil finish yet, so I'm not sure about that one. That's a relatively soft finish so I don't know how much abuse or solvent exposure it can take.

You can then use some of the finer grit papers (Pink, Aqua, White - 4,000/6,000/8,000 grit) to polish the edges of the fretboard if necessary, although I rarely need to.

 

[TonyFlyingSquirrel]

Thanks Cagey.

How 'bout the sides of the fingerboard as they meet the top surface between the frets?

 

[Cagey]

How 'bout the sides of the fingerboard as they meet the top surface between the frets?

I'm sorry, I'm not sure what you're asking me.

 

[TonyFlyingSquirrel]

What I mean is, when finishing the neck, the top of the fingerboard where the frets are pressed/glued in are taped off, leaving only the sides of the fingerboard with fret slot ends exposed.  On many guitars with rosewood fingerboards, this is the only part of the rosewood that actually has finish touching it.  With the sides finished and the top left raw, the propensity to chip finish off from the top side out is fairly certain, therefore it would seem to reason that this will need to be blended some how.
Do you just use the polising papers to rub up & down the sides of the neck to roll the edges of the fingerboard so chipping is no longer likely, or do you use another method to prevent chipping and take the sharper edges of the fingerboard & make them softer?

 

[Cagey]

I see. No, the "stropping" trick I talked about already works well for that, too. The difference would be that the tape is already removed, and you only do one side at a time. You don't want the abrasive to ride on the top of the fretboard at all. Even with fine papers, you'll leave perpendicular scuffs against the grain that are difficult to get rid of because the frets are in the way.

It's sorta like rolling the edges. Actually, it's exactly like rolling the edges, just not taken to that extreme unless that's what you want.

The whole operation is a lot easier if you have a painter's stand or a vise. That way, you have access to everything and lots of room to buff. Here, you can see where I'm using both...

It would actually be easier with just a vise on a benchtop to clamp a neck attached to a painting stick. But, I don't have a bench in the basement, and it's already too cold here to work in the garage for any length of time.

 

[TonyFlyingSquirrel]

Cagey, you ROCK! :headbang:

Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions.

 

[Cagey]

Thanks! No problem.

Here's a shot of a fret set that has been finished using the methods I describe...

It's tough to get a good shot because in macro mode you end up with depth-of-field issues, and I had to use the flash so the anti-shake feature works, which makes the thing a bit harsh, but you get the idea. Frets are levelled, then crowned, then dressed, then polished. That neck is Warmoth Pro Ebony over Koa with a vintage gloss polyurethane finish. The finish goes up the sides of the of the fretboard itself, but you don't see any jagged edges there at the break. In fact, you don't really see a transition at all.

 

[TonyFlyingSquirrel]

I get what'cher saying, I'm in your head.  That's exactly the effect and result that I'm steering for.

Thanks again Cagey, this get's bookmarked in my Resource Thread list now.

 

[TonyFlyingSquirrel]

Did you replace the T-Rod adjuster from Warmoth with a Stewmac Spokewheel?

 

[Cagey]

That's a different neck from the one shown above. This one isn't mine.