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What to put on an oak fretboard?

I am in the process of building my first CBG. The neck is a single piece oak 1x2 with no fretboard. I put the frets directly into the neck. My plan was to use tru oil on the neck but I don't think the glossy finish would work well for the fretboard.

Would it be ok to just tape off the top fretboard side and tru oil the back and sides of the neck? I am worried about what effect it will have to seal 3 sides of the wood and leave one exposed.

Any advice would be appreciated. I will post pictures up when the build is completed.

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Permalink Reply by Scott aka Farmer Ted on February 18, 2015 at 4:26pm

Tung oil is a good alternative...and not glossy like Tru-oil

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Permalink Reply by John Sawyer on February 18, 2015 at 5:40pm

I use all kinds of oil: Danish,Boiled Linseed, Tru... I hear wonderful things about Tung (just beware most commercial tung oil... well... isn't...)

All work fine, I'd oil the whole thing...

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Permalink Reply by Pizza Wizard on February 18, 2015 at 6:46pm

Basically I want to have the entire neck glossy except for the fretboard side which I want to keep it's natural look and feel. I don't think I've ever seen a guitar fretboard with a glossy finish.

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Permalink Reply by John Sawyer on February 18, 2015 at 7:02pm

You could oil it, let it cure, then hit the fretboard with some 400 sandpaper to cut the gloss... might be tricky with frets there, though...

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Permalink Reply by Pizza Wizard on February 18, 2015 at 7:43pm

Yeah that is an option as well. I have also thought about just putting a single thin layer, enough to seal it but not make it too noticeable.

I think I'm just overthinking this. Any gloss that ends up on there will get scuffed out with normal playing.

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Permalink Reply by John Sawyer on February 18, 2015 at 8:03pm

Sounds right to me... Most oil finishes aren't that glossy on the first coat anyway.

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Permalink Reply by Comrade Paul on February 19, 2015 at 7:30am

I'd tung oil the heck out of the while thing. Oak is very prone to warping. You need all the protection you can get.

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Permalink Reply by Slowpaw Steve T on February 19, 2015 at 10:14am

there are so many ways to treat a neck, I usually cap the neck with a hardwood fret board 7mm glued on to give the neck extra strength and enough clearance above the box lid for the pickup, then add the frets, then coat it all with 2 coats of semi gloss spray lacquer , waterproof and smooth as silk :-)

whatever you do never use water based paint on oak!

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Permalink Reply by David McQueen on February 19, 2015 at 2:27pm

I use mineral oil on the fret board. It takes quite a few coats. It will soil after while, but is a natural looking finish.. When I change the strings, I take a Mr. Eraser with just a touch of water and clean it. Then I let it dry and do another set of mineral oil coats. You can find it at the drug store ... A.K.A baby oil..

Also, it is nice because it is non toxic.