Fretboard top fiberglass layer or kindof varnish ?

[JiM]

Hello eveuriboudy !

I recently replaced few frets on my 2009 Parker fly Deluxe and saw a very thin layer was kinda peeling off.
Nothing dramatic i think, but i would like to address it.

Never practice fiberglass finishes myself, hence my questions.

How can i restore it ? Should i stay on fiber glass ? Try some epoxy layer ? If fiberglass only, what kind of product should i use ?
Should i brush it ? Spray it ?

Thanks for your ideas and returns of experience, and haaaave a nice weekend !

[vjmanzo]

Hi @JiM, you may have seen this already on the Anatomy post, but this is the layered view of the Fly/NiteFly/Fly Bass fingerboard:

To paraphrase Ken’s words, there’s no way to repair damage to the fingerboard itself though this is would be purely cosmetic. The shine on the fingerboard comes from the release paper used in production; if there’s a little film peeling off, it may just be residue. Can you post a picture or two?

Can you live with it? Definitely don’t put any chemicals on the fingerboard to shine it up.

[JiM]

Thanks for your answer @vjmanzo
I surely can live with it as it doesnt affect playing at all for now. Just a cosmetic issue.
I got some spare fretboards, but this would be a huge work for such a little issue. i was just wondering about fixing that layer, even by totally replacing it with a thin fluid epoxy layer.
I plan to buy other old parker guitars with such issues (delaminating fretboards, falling frets...) just for the pleasure to fix them...as many owners feel " stuck"with them

[vjmanzo]

Gotcha, @JiM; sounds like a worthwhile and fun pursuit!

@Ken Parker may have some further thoughts; he’s mentioned to me and in a few interviews that he and his team tried all sorts of things to cosmetically repair small dings or scratches in the fretboards to no avail, unfortunately. Having said that: keep us posted if you try something!!

Replacing an entire fretboard with the original ss frets is a big operation, but you’re right: repairing lifted fretboards and frets is another story and those guitars can be saved with some effort!

[Alejandro]

This Chilean luthier was handed a beaten Fly Deluxe with a delaminated (lifted) fretboard. The owner wanted that fixed and traditional frets put into the fretboard. The whole job was filmed in a series of videos. On this specific episode he talks about polishing the brand new frets and the fretboard. What that means is that you may actually get away with sanding your fretboard with different grits like this guy did, and doing so will get rid of the damaged layer of epoxy resin that's peeling. But, I wouldn't recommend you to try it if you're not confident sand-polishing. Just live with it.