hamed - 3-20-2007 at 02:19 PM
Helloo everyone, one of my ouds has a finshed and polished fingerboard, it looks nice but i feel that it causes me to slip more and not be as accurate
with the notes. is it common for fingerboards to be finished, i wanted to ask you before i go try to sand off the finish.
thank you
Greg - 3-21-2007 at 04:33 AM
Hamed,
I have owned several Arabic and Turkish ouds and none had any kind of finish (coating) on the fingerboard.
However, they have all been designed that way and the woods (or other materials) used on the fingerboards have obviously been chosen by the luthiers
for suitability in an uncoated state.
It may be a good idea to find out what kind of wood is used on yours before removing the protective layer.
Regards,
Greg
Dr. Oud - 3-21-2007 at 09:12 AM
If it's wood, the fingerboard should have a light coating of any vegetable or nut oil. Any surface finish will only wear off anyway, leaving the wood
unprotected from the acids in the oil from your skin .
hamed - 3-21-2007 at 09:30 AM
thanks guys. I'm not sure what the wood for the fingerboard is, I've one guitar builder tell me it was indian rosewood, and another tell me it was
mahogany. In any case, the coating on the fingerboard is more than a coating of oil.
Do you thing it will be a bad idea if i remove the finish myself and then coat the wood with nut oil?
thanks again
Dr. Oud - 3-21-2007 at 01:42 PM
You could remove the finish - likely shellac, so alcohol and fine steel wool will take it off, or just put a little oil on the spots that wear the
finish off.
hamed - 3-21-2007 at 05:04 PM
thanks again.
hamed