midnight sun Posted December 3, 2008 Share Posted December 3, 2008 Just got another guitar in a sad condition. The rosewood on the fretboard have very deep gouges almost across the whole board. The previous owner does not cut his fingernails and used them to support the fingers on the strings. Through time, the nails dug deep into the board and now has bad looking gouges in so many places. Fells like a bad scalloped fretboard. Anyone here encountered or know how to remedy this without having to change the board? This is the first time I've seen a board this badly gouged and I've owned over 1 hundred guitars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LP_VM55 Posted December 3, 2008 Share Posted December 3, 2008 I guess you could sand it, take of the strings, wet 300 gauge sandpaper, it might hurt the finish on the neck and the inlays but the way you describe the previous owners memoirs of Freddy Crougar I'm pretty sure the finish is the least of your worries Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
midnight sun Posted December 3, 2008 Author Share Posted December 3, 2008 I guess you could sand it' date=' take of the strings, wet 300 gauge sandpaper, it might hurt the finish on the neck and the inlays but the way you describe the previous owners memoirs of Freddy Crougar I'm pretty sure the finish is the least of your worries [/quote'] That is an idea but the thing is, in some places the gouges are so deep the board will be almost be sanded off completely. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djroge1 Posted December 3, 2008 Share Posted December 3, 2008 Assuming it is not a maple board (unfinished board like rosewood) and since ya got nothing to loose, you can try soaking a rag in hot water, wring most of the water out and lay it across the damaged fret-board. The idea is that the warmth & moisture will raise the wood grain, to try and pull some of the gouges up or out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Martin Posted December 3, 2008 Share Posted December 3, 2008 The visual that comes with this topic is just...gross. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LP_VM55 Posted December 3, 2008 Share Posted December 3, 2008 That is an idea but the thing is' date=' in some places the gouges are so deep the board will be almost be sanded off completely. Thanks.[/quote'] Damn, this guys have nails of titanium or something crazy like that. He must have absolutely thrashed that fret boards... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluemoon Posted December 3, 2008 Share Posted December 3, 2008 Dude, that is a sick story. what the hell was wrong with the guy? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ninety1vee Posted December 3, 2008 Share Posted December 3, 2008 The visual that comes with this topic is just...gross. you know, that's exactly what i was thinking:-& . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuitarGuy503 Posted December 3, 2008 Share Posted December 3, 2008 Hopefully you got it cheap...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thundergod Posted December 3, 2008 Share Posted December 3, 2008 Did the guy look like a bear? Probably was one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Plains Posted December 3, 2008 Share Posted December 3, 2008 This sounds like a perfect opportunity to throw on a Brazilian board... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dynadude Posted December 4, 2008 Share Posted December 4, 2008 You can make wood filler to match the board, but it will always be an obvious patch. You need sawdust from the same type of wood, and mix it with wood glue to make a thick paste. Apply the paste a little thicker than the surface, let it harden for a day or two, then sand smooth. There are even companies that make special pens for reproducing wood grain. Look in Stew Mac. I doubt that any patch will ever blend that well though. You'll probably end up replacing the board, or leaving it as-is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clance Posted December 4, 2008 Share Posted December 4, 2008 Just an idea. If youre interested, and dont want to replace the entire fretboard, you could just actually scallop the fretboard like so: http://content.answers.com/main/content/wp/en/c/c1/Scalloped_fretboard.jpg Ive always wanted to try one of those Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WezV Posted December 4, 2008 Share Posted December 4, 2008 the filler idea is really the best option but even using the same wood it can look really patchy here is a really clever idea that helps to disguise the filler: http://www.frets.com/FRETSPages/Luthier/Technique/Frets/FBoardDivot/fboardivot.html obviously its a lot of work and should be done by a professional - so its up to you to decide if the guitar is worth this kind of surgery I have done it a couple of times and had good results. It works best on ebony and will always be a bit more visable on rosewood or something like wenge. i did it on an old eko with wenge fretboard and it was harder to hide because of the wenges strong grain personally i would do this if the guitar also needed a refret, i might be hesitant to do a refret just to fix the divots though... depends on the value of the guitar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flight959 Posted December 4, 2008 Share Posted December 4, 2008 The visual that comes with this topic is just...gross. YUK!!!!!!!!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveinspain Posted December 4, 2008 Share Posted December 4, 2008 Why don't you want to put a new fret board on it? I have seen them for sale every once in a while on Ebay... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les Paul Fanatic Posted December 4, 2008 Share Posted December 4, 2008 JESUS what did that guy do to that poor guitar, and what guitar deserves a fate like that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluemoon Posted December 4, 2008 Share Posted December 4, 2008 Hey, I tracked the guy down. He was really nice to me. Gave me an awesome back rub/scratch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thundergod Posted December 4, 2008 Share Posted December 4, 2008 ...maybe this is a good oportunity to try them AXEwraps... you think they have any product for necks? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AXE® Posted December 4, 2008 Share Posted December 4, 2008 Fold a cotton wash cloth in half, take a clothes iron on low setting and press on the gouged areas. don't be to aggressive. A concentrated stream of steam will do it also. This will raise the grain. Let sit until completely dry and light buff with 0000 steel wool. Cover the electronics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRV-Zeppelin Posted December 4, 2008 Share Posted December 4, 2008 All you have to do is ask yourself, "What Would Jesus Do?"... He wouldn't play nice guitars with freakin' long nails, that's what!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WezV Posted December 4, 2008 Share Posted December 4, 2008 Fold a cotton wash cloth in half' date=' take a clothes iron on low setting and press on the gouged areas.don't be to aggressive. A concentrated stream of steam will do it also. This will raise the grain. Let sit until completely dry and light buff with 0000 steel wool. Cover the electronics. [/quote'] steam works great with dents where wood fibres have been squashed/crushed. It will not replace worn away wood. Might work well for minor divots but not the more severe ones Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stkustom Posted December 5, 2008 Share Posted December 5, 2008 dont listen to any of those replys this is almost a invisible repair if you cant do it holler at me at stkustom@yahoo.com ! you have to takeall the frets out an then sand with the right raidus block as you sand the gouges will fill up with sawdust then at each gouge you drop thin super glue in an keep sandin untill you fill them up clean out fret slots an refret you have a new fretboard an new frets i have done this on many guitarssome come out better than others but !! you can check some of my work out at myspace.com/kustomst GOOD LUCK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dynadude Posted December 5, 2008 Share Posted December 5, 2008 the filler idea is really the best option but even using the same wood it can look really patchy here is a really clever idea that helps to disguise the filler: http://www.frets.com/FRETSPages/Luthier/Technique/Frets/FBoardDivot/fboardivot.html obviously its a lot of work and should be done by a professional - so its up to you to decide if the guitar is worth this kind of surgery I have done it a couple of times and had good results. It works best on ebony and will always be a bit more visable on rosewood or something like wenge. i did it on an old eko with wenge fretboard and it was harder to hide because of the wenges strong grain personally i would do this if the guitar also needed a refret' date=' i might be hesitant to do a refret just to fix the divots though... depends on the value of the guitar[/quote'] That method makes perfect sense. I bet you could make slivers and lay them in line with the grain, and do away with most of the fine filler. That way you could preserve the grain and give it less of a patchy look. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retrosurfer1959 Posted December 5, 2008 Share Posted December 5, 2008 Are they bad enough to effect play or cosmetic? If bad enough that you need to pull the frets then sanding and gluing will usually work without seeing how bad Freddy Kruegger tore it up. if it's only one or two frets worth you can actually cut a piece out and block fill between two frets since it's not structural but it is a hack repair and will trash future value if it's visible or your honest Id go this order if it was on my bench: 1 - ignore it and play it if cosmetic only 2 - Damp cloth and heat to bring the grain back up 3 - Steam it since your in deep doo doo anyway 4 - Sand and glue and described 5 - Use filler and sawdust to build it up 6 - Scallop the neck for the hell of it nobody scallops Les Pauls you'd be original 7 - Give up and replace the fretboard with Braz or a really nice Ebony if the rest of the guitar is worth it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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