Fretboard Flush to Neck Issue

[stevemac00]

When I attached my fretboard to the neck I scraped and sanded so the transition was smooth.

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I taped the side of the fretboard before finishing the mahogany neck so the ebony fretboard was lacquer free.

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After ten coats of Behlen Stringed Instrument Lacquer over a month as anyone would guess the finish was built up to several mils thick. When I sanded this down flush there are some areas without lacquer and I'm perplexed about what to do. (See photo. Note the ebony has not been cleaned yet from the wet sanding.)

I suppose I'll spray a thin coat of lacquer but that will eventually wear off from playing. In retrospect I would leave the fretboard slightly oversized as it could always be filed down later and fret ends dressed but I wonder how the veteran builders approach this issue.

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[B. Howard]

I think you will find that most of us finish the edges of the neck and fretboard right up to the playing surface. Most major manufacturers also finish the fret board surface as well, I do not. This is one I sprayed last week waiting to be buffed. I will pull the masking tape and scrape anything that crept in at the edge with a razor, finish filing the fret edges and it's done.

[stevemac00]

Ah. Thank you. I didn't know the edge was finished. That definitely makes more sense as you can now have a rounded edge on the finish. I should be able to mask and add a few coats with the Preval.

What is that masking tape on the fingerboard? I might get the plastic detailers tape which conforms to rounded objects better than paper tape.

[B. Howard]

I use 3Mmasking tapes that I get from my local auto re-finish supplier. They come in a variety of widths that can be used to masks bindings when shading and such a well as fret boards. The important consideration is that they are solvent proof and rated for lacquers. Most general purpose tape is not, it has been engineered to work with water based products. You can have a real mess if your tape doesn't resist the lacquer.