Polyurethane on a Maple Fretbaord

[A_Cold_1]

Alright, so I need someone to elaborate more on this. I am building a guitar comepletly from scratch with a maple fretboard, and I want to definitely finish it. For polyurethane, I will
be wiping it on with some stain rags from Home Depot, and as I don’t have much experience with lacquer, I assume I will just need to do the coat, sand repeat thing (maybe some of you can elaborate a bit more on this).

Now, is polyurethane usable on a maple fretboard? I know that it is more durable, and yellows slower than lacquer, but is it a finish that is usable for a neck? If it is, then I will most likely use Minwax Matte Wipe-On Poly.

Really appreciate any response that will (hopefully) come. Thanks!

 

[DavidRavenMoon]

Re: Polyurethane on a Maple Fretbaord

Polyurethane works fine. I had a fretless bass with a maple fingerboard. I finished it with polyurethane.


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[JB_From_Hell]

Re: Polyurethane on a Maple Fretbaord

Isn’t that what most any maple neck is finished with?

 

[Ayrton]

Re: Polyurethane on a Maple Fretbaord

You can get Minwax poly in a spray can as well. I would suggest Tru Oil if you plan to do a wipe on finish. Not only is it easier, but gives a nicer feeling neck.

 

[Cobra1957]

Re: Polyurethane on a Maple Fretbaord

I’m no luthier by any means but I think I saw somewhere that if you ever do a fret replacement and the Polyurethane was put on after the frets were installed, you will need to score where the poly meets the fret on both sides or you stand the chance of cracking the finish when you remove the frets.

 

[DavidRavenMoon]

Re: Polyurethane on a Maple Fretbaord

Isn’t that what most any maple neck is finished with?

If the neck is finished with lacquer that’s what’s on the fretboard. If it’s poly, it’s poly.


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[A_Cold_1]

Re: Polyurethane on a Maple Fretbaord

You can get Minwax poly in a spray can as well. I would suggest Tru Oil if you plan to do a wipe on finish. Not only is it easier, but gives a nicer feeling neck.

I’ve heard that tru oil gives a very thin finish that isn’t durable, that’s been my biggest deal breaker for Tru oil.

 

[Ayrton]

Re: Polyurethane on a Maple Fretbaord

That is incorrect information. Tru Oil is a gun stock finish and is a polymer. Considering what a hunting rifle goes through, a guitar neck is cake.

Tru Oil and wax is the standard finish for EBMM guitars as well. The thickness is like any other finish, the more you add the thicker it is.

 

[AlexR]

Re: Polyurethane on a Maple Fretbaord

^ Yep, a finish is a thick as you choose to put in on.

Most people find that the slightly lower sheen the biggest impediment to doing truoil....and it certainly doesn't come up quite as shiny as the usual suspects. But on a neck, and especially the back, this is no bad thing.

I have 2 guitars wholly finished with truoil. I find them quite ok and they are wearing seemingly the same as my nitro ones.

 

[ItsaBass]

Re: Polyurethane on a Maple Fretbaord

Try Oil is a weird finish. It has elements of an oil, a urethane, and a lacquer. Oil because of the way it is applied and the way it penetrates, which is due to the fact that it consists of a hybrid of oil and urethane. Urethane because it is the main solid left behind – the element that forms the bulk of the hard finish in the end. Lacquer because the stock product, which is a reactive finish, can be thinned with mineral spirits, which then evaporate out (the definition of a lacquer: a binder carried in a solvent). So it can be thinned, in which case the reactive finish becomes a binder being carried within a solvent – not normally the way solvent finishes are applied, and not normally the way reactive finishes are applied. So, Tru-Oil isn't "purely" one thing, but a hybrid of several. It is closest to a nicely smoothed wipe-on poly once everything is on and cured, but it has many of the application benefits of an oil finish (better penetration, thinner layers, easier to apply, easier to fix mistakes in application).

At any rate, poly on maple is not weird at all. It's probably the most common finish in the world for maple boards. What is probably a bit weird is using a wipe-on poly on a fretted neck. Tru-Oil is more idiot proof, and will give a better result for what is effectively the same finish material as a wipe on poly.