STICKEY FRETBOARD

[we3areG]

STICKY FRETBOARD ON ROASTED MAPLE NECK
This is my first post and I just finished my first build – a ROASTED MAPLE, CHAMBERED BLACK KORINA STRAT (beautiful transparent red and all gold hardware).  My favorite guitars had been my 68 TELE, CLAPTON STRAT, and my MARTIN DREDNAUGHT, but the WARMOTH STRAT  has become my favorite.  The CLAPTON STRAT and the MARTIN have a soft V profile on the neck which I love, so I ordered the CLAPTON PROFLILE and both have vintage size frets.  (NOTE: Warmoth’s Clapton profile, doesn’t match my 2014 American Clapton Strat profile – Warmoth says there were several versions??? Warmoth’s is a sharper V)  I researched and read the forum for a year.  I used the best components and burnished the back of the neck.  Since I play the MARTIN (with 12’s) about half the time I have trouble bending strings on the electrics (with 9’s) without touching the fretboard.  I love the burnished neck, but here’s the problem – when bending strings, my fingers stick to the roasted maple fretboard.  They stick and make for an unsmooth bend, and sometimes they even pop and make noises. 
Maybe I should have gotten taller frets, but my guitar necks match and I’m not into changing frets or playing style at this time.  I’ve read that burnishing the fretboard is not workable with frets installed, BUT WHAT CAN I DO to stop the finger sticking?  I see CAGEY is now burnishing his fretboards and  installing his own frets. 
Can the fretboard be waxed?
Can you treat the fretboard with BOILED LINDSEED OIL or something to smooth the surface?
Has anybody tried polishing with a tiny (1/4”) pad on a Dremel type tool, with a wet or dry polishing compound?  Seems like you could get up next to the frets.
I appreciate any advice. 

 

[AirCap]

First, wash your hands before playing the guitar.
Second, try a little lemon oil or naptha on the fingerboard applied with a soft rag.

 

[Steve_Karl]

Is it unfinished raw wood?

I had the same problem with a finished maple fretboard and just scraped the finish off with a pen knife and the sticky has been gone ever since. '82 or '83 I believe for the scrape job. It's not an every day or even every month guitar but it has gotten a bit darker/dirty looking
but not horrible. I think I once buffed it since the scrape job with some very fine sand paper.

 

[Cagey]

It's unlikely anything you add to the neck is going to improve it, particularly any kind of finish. Ideally, getting rid of finishes/coatings is the direction you take for the problem you describe, although that's typically not possible on an existing neck. Even on finished necks, the fretboard is rarely finished except on Maple 'boards.

So, what's happening here? Aircap may have sounded a bit tongue-in-cheek, but seriously, it's amazing how many guys just aren't good about washing their hands. It's not surprising - men are pigs, amiright?

Yeah. Too bad we own everything  :laughing7:​

So, first order of business is to clean the fretboard. Get some naphtha (~$12/qt at Walmart). Works great. Cuts grease, grime and kukka while leaving the finish alone, although in your case there's no finish to worry about.

Then, don't oil it. And please don't use fretboard destroyer "finger-ease", chicken grease, french fry fat or any of those $5 miracle-in-a-can solutions that "improve tone, appearance, playability and wood life expectancy". The neck meat wood and fretboard will get more oil than it can absorb just from your hands/fingers, which is why it needs periodic cleaning in the first place.

Then, while you can't really burnish a fretted neck, you can still smooth it up quite a bit. Get some polishing papers, or even some (shudder) 0000 steel wool, and buff the hell out of it. But, buff it perpendicular to the length of the neck, not along its length. It'll take you 10 times as long, but at least the textural orientation will be going in the same direction as your fingers when you bend or do vibrato, so it won't try to hold you back.

Note: If you do use steel wool, and I don't recommend you do, be sure to tape something over your pickups, or maybe even bag the body in a small kitchen garbage bag to protect it from the steel dust.

 

[bagman67]

Note: If you do use steel wool, and I don't recommend you do, be sure to tape something over your pickups, or maybe even bag the body in a small kitchen garbage bag to protect it from the steel dust.

Two things -

1.  There are synthetic abrasive pads - Scotchbrite and such - that will also do a decent job of scuzz removal.
2.  If you must use steel wool, it might be just as easy to unbolt the neck as it is to bag/mask the body.

Have fun, and wash your damn hands.

Bagman

 

[we3areG]

Thanks very much for all the tips. And I have used Finger Ease on my glossy maple necks, which seems to help sometimes.  I questioned whether to use on the Roasted Maple but tried it once with no help.  In fact it may have raised the grains a tiny bit.  I just love this guitar and this has been my only concern.  Very happy with Warmoth neck and body.

 

[Cagey]

I keep forgetting about those Scotchbrite pads. I don't use them because I always have a ton of polishing papers around. Should buy stock in 3M. But, yeah. Those would be preferable to steel wool.

 

[AirCap]

Steel wool is of the devil.
If you must use metal - use brass wool, as it's not magnetic.

 

[we3areG]

I've got plenty of leftover sandpaper from burnishing and I've also got some of STEWMAC's fret erasers in different grits.  So I will gently polish after my ERNIE BALL PARADIGM strings go dead, if they ever do. 

 

[bagman67]

Might be worth sacrificing a set of strings if the grungy fingerboard is really giving you heartburn.  Consider the net increase in overall happiness if you play new strings on a clean fingerboard.

 

[Cagey]

That, and I guarantee those strings aren't going to last forever anyway. May as well euthanize 'em.

 

[we3areG]

Well, I suppose happiness is more important than a $15 set of strings. 

 

[bagman67]

Well, I suppose happiness is more important than a $15 set of strings.

Only you can say for sure.  It is, after all, your happiness, not ours.

 

[we3areG]

Well, I tried washing my hands, even though I shower at least once a month, but no real difference.  I love the guitar and couldn't stop playing it, but I finally decided to polish the fretboard.  I tested paper around a pad, and some 3m type blocks, but ended up using the StewMac fret erasers that I had on hand.  I had 400, 1200, and 2000 grit.  These are about 2.5" x 1.0" and the 400 fit all the way into the 22nd fret nicely.  The other grits were a bit wider.  I only spent 2 or 3 minutes with the 400 on each fret, and a little more time with the 1200.  I polished cross grain since I figured the issue had to do with the grain (even tho it felt smooth)  I tried the 2000 but didn't think it helped the feel.  Anyway it is a significant difference and the bends are smooth like my other guitars.  I polished the frets a little more also.  I recommend the StewMac fret erasers for many uses.  Thanks for the help.

 

[Cagey]

Good to hear. Glad that worked out for you. Nothing worse than a neck that fights with you.

 

[Steve_Karl]

I keep forgetting about those Scotchbrite pads. I don't use them because I always have a ton of polishing papers around. Should buy stock in 3M. But, yeah. Those would be preferable to steel wool.

They're great for me.
I always have a few large sheets of White and Grey handy and cut small squares out of them when I need them.

I've got some of the polishing papers you recommended and they're awesome also
but the ScotchBrite Grey and White and easier to grip and more of a go to for me scuffing inbetween finish coats and just about anything else that steel wool used to do.
ScotchBrite grid chart.pdf attached.