Masking the sides of the fretboard

Pono

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This is my 1st Uke build and I am about to begin the finishing process with Behlen aerosol lacquer. The book that I have "Guitar Finishing Step by Step," from Stew Mac says that I need to mask the sides and of the fretboard and the fretboard before I finish the instrument. All the Ukuleles that I have played have a gloss finish that goes up the sides of the fretboard and stops. I would like to just mask the fretboard itself and leave the sides to get a smooth lacquer finish. Has anyone else done this on a finish? How did it work? Any things to be careful of?
 
You don't need to mask the sides of the fingerboard, just its top and frets. Be sure to use proper ventilation and safety procedures.
 
I only ever mask off the top. Otherwise you are going to end up with a ridge on the side of the neck that is going to have to be smoothed out somehow. Recipe for disaster if you loose concentration or don't know what you are doing.
 
Agreed. I masked the sides on one, and had that ridge. I was able to polish it out for the most part, but it was still there a little bit and bugged me. Now, I just mask off the top of the fretboard and frets..

That asked, and said, if the fretboard it self was also finished with nitro would that cause a problem? I was thinking about lacquering the fretboard on one to see how it came out. Couldn't you just redress the frets after finish? Thoughts on that?
 
You would tape off the entire fingerboard if you are spraying color or staining a neck. For example, I’ll be spraying a black uke next month with a fingerboard bound in maple. I’ll mask off the fingerboard and frets as though I’m doing just clear. In a separate step I mask the rest of the binding for the color coats. After the color coats are applied, I then pull the tape and lightly sand the paint edge. Because I taped the top of the fretboard in a separate step, I don’t have to remask. I clear the entire neck leaving the top and frets taped. Once it’s all done, you won’t feel a paint line. If you are trying to do a sunburst with Belhen’s tinted spray-bombs then I would do it the way I just described, otherwise just tape the top of the fingerboard. Also, use pinstripe tape to avoid the bleeding you’d get from masking tape.
 
Tudorp---Most companies finish maple fingerboards, Rickenbacker even finishes their rosewood 'boards. All light-colored fingerboard woods are better finished unless you like to accumulate a lot of finger funk (some guys do). Best plan might be to sand and spray the 'board and then fret it. Hammer dings are real hard to hide, though. I often cut the slots a shade oversize, gently tap in the frets, then clamp them in with a caul to make sure they are seated fully. Then wick in super glue from the fret ends before you snip them to the slot length (I squirt a puddle of glue on a nonporous surface, then apply it with a toothpick). If your glue control is good, you won't get any on the fingerboard. I've come to use this system for all fret work.
 
I'd only finish an ebony fretboard if strongly pressed by a customer. I prefer the contrast of a lacquered neck and an oiled ebony 'board. But I'd use nitro if it came right down to it. Same for maple. It takes a LOT of playing to wear through the lacquer. Even with steel strings and a lot of string bending. I would expect ukes to go many years before wearing through the finish. And then, folks who wear holes in the finish and develop funk marks usually wear them as a badge, the reason stage-worn or relic finishes are catching on. Players want the look without the work. Just put on a couple extra coats, sand, buff/polish (if you like) and deliver. Tell them up front that the finish may wear in spots in a few years. If they come back in 2 years with funk marks, tell them congratulations. All that playing must have made them a far better musician. In the end, its about the music in the air, not pristine instruments.
 
This is only somewhat related to the thread but it has to do with maple and lacquer. When I bind ebony, rosewood or cocobolo fret boards with maple I will I will apply a few coats of very thin lacquer to the top of the bindings to seal them (adjacent to the top of the fb). Then I will steel wool and buff the finger board as usual before I press the frets in. Then the fret board is taped and the instrument goes to the spray booth.
Before taking this precaution I was always left with lots of schmutz to clean up on the maple bindings after the sanding/buffing procedure.
 
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