Epi Les Paul Ultra-II - why are neck inlays "sticky"?

[Kirb]

I recently purchased an Epi Les Paul Ultra-II. Sweet guitar. One annoyance, though... Unlike the fretboard, the surface of the trapezoid inlays are a bit “sticky” or "tacky" when trying to bend notes. I don't notice this on those frets that don't have inlays. I had the guitar set up at an authorized Gibson warranty service center, the tech cleaned the fretboard (and picked up a lot of black gunk on his cloth), and that seemed to help for for the first hour of playing. Now the problem is back again. Has anyone else had this problem? Anyone know if there is something that I can do or something I can apply to the inlays so that they have less friction to my fingertips during note bends or vibrato bends?

 

I welcome comments from someone knowledgeable at Epiphone (something other than the standard Customer Service response that I should contact the authorized warranty service center).

[hminh87]

On my first cheap epi the plastic inlay would caugh my finger from time to time. I sanded very lightly on them and was quite pleased with the result. The inlays became satin and smooth. Plus that they looked nicer than before.

[Gordy01]

I own an Ultra 2 and haven't noticed any stickiness on the inlays.

I do a lot of bending too.

You might want to use a very thin solvent on them, it could be glue residue.

Be very careful with the solvent though. Use a small amount on a lint free cloth and try

not to let it sit, as it could get under the inlay and compromise the glue.

Or sand as noted above.

[Ron G]

Try 0000 steel wool, across the grain BUT make sure to mask off the pickups so the metal dust doesn't get in.

This should smooth off the entire fingerboard and give the frets a nice polishing, too. 0000 wool is so fine, it

can be used to clean glass. I don't think solvent is a good idea - perhaps some lemon, mineral or linseed oil.