Sharkfin falling

[anarkhos]

By sugestion of a person that suposedlly is a guitar expert, i clean my fretboard with alchool. It is the 2/3 time i use it for cleaning the fretboard and i noticed that the sharkfin inlay on the 3rd fret is starting to com out. I belive that the alchool may be dissolving the glue. If eventually the fin comes out how can i put it back and with wich type of glue?BTW my guitar is a Js32 KV, in case it matters. I really need some help, i dont want my guitar with a big empty hole on my fretboard. I hope someone can help me.

[Nimitz]

I got to visit this forum more often...

[xenophobe]

Don't use alcohol or other solvents to clean your fretboard?

Use lemon oil, olive oil, motor oil, crisco, bacon fat, etc... I use lemon oil for ebony, and I've been told olive oil is better for rosewood. Most people with maple necks want their necks dirty.

Any kind of fretboard oil and a toothbrush is all you should ever need to clean the fretboard or trem.

[anarkhos]

thanks for replying so fast. i see i hitted the crapper there damn. i thought thoose oils were used to keep the wood hydrated. ill do that on the future. but how do i glue it back if it falls?

[Devotee]

Use super glue. I usually clean my fretboards with naphtha (lighter fluid) and then with lemon oil and have never had problems with inlays lifting, maybe in your case it just wasn't seated properly.

LOL at the bacon fat comment.

[BigE13]

You can use crazy glue but you do not need alot of it. Just enough to ensure a bond. Inlays are usually in pretty snug so just a little will lock it right in...just make sure you clean any old glue out of the route and off the back of the inlay. You can very gently and lightly scrape it off with the flat of a razorblade. You do not want the glue oozing out onto the fretboard!

[anarkhos]

thanks ill do it. just have to wait untill it falls now.

[sully]

If it's lifting already, wick some water thin super glue underneath it. There's no reason to wait until the problem gets worse.

Sully

[anarkhos]

its a bit lifted on the fretboard side dots side, corner that has a 90º angle. its like 1mm above the fretboard, but only the corner, maybe 10% of the inlay lifted. but is something small.

[sully]

Get it secured before it chips or worsens.

[anarkhos]

how do i put it underneath it without spreading it on the top of the fretboard? i cant access that area and i think if i try to lift it a bit it may break the inlay.

[sully]

Materials needed:

Water thin super glue
Applicator tip for the super glue (helps control the flow of it)
Glue accelerator
Razor blade
Optional: Paste Wax Q-tip


Steps:

Take the Q-tip and apply a small amount of paste wax on the fretboard around the inlay. This will keep the glue from seeping into the wood grain. You can skip this if you like, but it can be helpful. Anyway, put the applicator tip on the bottle of glue and get the tip right on the seam of the inlay and fretboard. Apply a small amount of glue on that seam; you’ll notice the water thin glue seeping down into that seam, which is what you want to happen. You don’t need a whole ton of glue in there, but enough to get around the areas where the original glue didn’t spread to. Once you’ve got enough in there (and you don’t need a ton), press the inlay back into place (you can use the side of the razor blade to hold it so you don’t stick your thumb to it), then spray the accelerator on it. The accelerator will cure the glue quickly, hence the name.

Now that you’ve got the inlay back in place, scrape the excess glue away. If the seam that you just wicked glue into isn’t flush with the fretboard, wick more glue in there, spray the accelerator, and scrape the excess until you’re flush and you have a smooth surface.

Sully

[RacerX]

That'll be $12, please.

[warlok]

Just to throw it out there, I use the Dunlop fretboard cleaner and conditioner on my rosewood and ebony boards. The cleaner definitely has alcohol in it (may be only alcohol for all I know). I've never had any problem with a fretboard.. Unless you poured it on and left it there for a while, I bet the inlay was incorrectly installed in the first place.

[anarkhos]

thanks. this is really helpfull. i thought this kind of repairs would be a bit more complicated and expensive. thanks.