refinishing 1979 stingray maple fretboard?

[Hiperi0n]

Hello all..i'm new to the forum..i'm Marco from Rome Italy...
i just bought a 1979 music man stingray with maple fretboard...and i had several stingrays before......probably it will need a refretting the frets are a bit used...
then some part of the fretboard have a lot of wear especially on fret number 3 , 5 and 7

do you suggetst to refinish all the fretboard? just the fretboard because the neck is in really good condition...

and can you tell me what finish was used on pre ernie stingrays on the fretboard....i want to tell to liuther to use the same finish to keep it as it was at the origin..and i want to know what finish is exactly...thanx a lot

 

[Caca de Kick]

When refretting a maple fretboard, usually the tech refinishes just the fretboard and leaves the rest of the neck alone.

 

[Hiperi0n]

Yep...i know that...i mean that the neck don't need refinish because is in perfect condition
i see you have some pre ernie maple stingrays..do you know what finish is on fretboard? is polyurethane? or what? thanx

 

[Hiperi0n]

no one can help me here?? if you don't know in the music man forum i don't know where to search ehehehe

 

[Jimmyb]

To be honest, this is the Ernie Ball Musicman forum.

The current bases use the wax and oil finish on the necks and the FAQ's tell you the best type of way to apply those, but as far as pre-Ernie Ball methods, the infomation may well be in short supply.

 

[tommyindelaware]

i'd use just a few thin coats of nitro........tinted to match the rest of the neck. while they are much harder..... polys are much more difficult to remove when refretting.

 

[Hiperi0n]

To be honest, this is the Ernie Ball Musicman forum.

yep i know that...but i'm quite sure that there are a lot of vintage stingrays here...i have also a 2001 ernie ball music man transorange with matching headstock and rosewood fretboard

I also thought about nitro..but i just would like to keep it as it was in the origin

 

[bovinehost]

Those basses were finished in poly. If you want to keep it 'period correct', use a light layer of poly.

 

[Hiperi0n]

thanx a lot Bovinehost...so a light layer of Polyurethane Finish ....great
for the frets they should be medium size right?

 

[Caca de Kick]

Yes medium sized frets.

I'm not exactly sure on the neck finishes of my early basses. I assumed it was poly.
But one thing I have observed on preEB necks in general is; the earlier (before '81-ish) necks yellow dark and wear through very easy, and the later (81-83) necks don't hardly yellow and seem tougher to wear. Are they both poly with just thickness differences? I don't know.

 

[ProgHead]

My 1978 MM SR: body refinished, neck refretted and refinished completely in poly in 1999.

Pic taken in a show a few weeks ago. (sorry for my face, but it's the bass you have to look at!)

Andy

 

[Hiperi0n]

guys..when you say "poly"......you means polyester or polyurethane finish?

 

[Caca de Kick]

We would be talking about polyester.