JapanAxe Posted February 1, 2019 Share Posted February 1, 2019 I dearly love my 63 Precision reissue, but it does suffer from sticky lacquer on the back of the neck. I have scraped off shed loads of lacquer by dragging a Stanley blade along it, but every time I gig it my hands get warm and the neck starts to get draggy again. I've just been giving it another go, and the top of my work bench is covered in what looks like the dandruff of Beelzebub. Just how much of that crap is on there? Answers to the nearest kilogram please... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonse Posted February 1, 2019 Share Posted February 1, 2019 I've sanded the necks of Japanese fenders before, they were gloss and there was a lot of it, took me a good few hours with a dense grit sandpaper. I don't want to take my nitro finished necks all the way down to the wood so I just give them a go over every now and again with a semi used scotch brite pad. I get sweaty-ish hands too at gigs and I find this helps to keep them smooth. Failing that, maybe keep a small towel to had to wipe down with mid-gig. I find this is the least labour intensive method. Just don't leave it on top or your amp covering the fan or anything... 😉 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JapanAxe Posted February 1, 2019 Author Share Posted February 1, 2019 56 minutes ago, Jonse said: I've sanded the necks of Japanese fenders before, they were gloss and there was a lot of it, took me a good few hours with a dense grit sandpaper. I don't want to take my nitro finished necks all the way down to the wood so I just give them a go over every now and again with a semi used scotch brite pad. I get sweaty-ish hands too at gigs and I find this helps to keep them smooth. Failing that, maybe keep a small towel to had to wipe down with mid-gig. I find this is the least labour intensive method. Just don't leave it on top or your amp covering the fan or anything... 😉 Thanks but I don't think a towel would help, it's not the sweat, it's the soft lacquer getting even softer! I like a proper gloss neck (as found on many Japanese Fenders) but this feels like it never cured properly. I don't really want to get down to bare wood, but it might just happen! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
therealting Posted February 1, 2019 Share Posted February 1, 2019 If you do get down to bare wood, you could always oil it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonse Posted February 1, 2019 Share Posted February 1, 2019 1 hour ago, JapanAxe said: Thanks but I don't think a towel would help, it's not the sweat, it's the soft lacquer getting even softer! I like a proper gloss neck (as found on many Japanese Fenders) but this feels like it never cured properly. I don't really want to get down to bare wood, but it might just happen! Ah okay, that changes things. Well, as @therealting says, sand down to wood then oil that baby up. Since it's nitro, a decent grit sandpaper should chew right through it. https://www.premierguitar.com/articles/Sanding_Your_Guitar_Neck_for_a_Smoother_Feel That's a pretty decent guide to sanding, just don't rush and sand too much in one spot! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reggaebass Posted February 1, 2019 Share Posted February 1, 2019 I don’t think you will need to take it back to bare wood, I’ve had a few necks that were really sticky even after cleaning with everything, so I decided to take the surface layer off , and I used these nibbing down pads , b&q also sell them , which are used in cabinet making , the necks came out silky smooth 🙂 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JapanAxe Posted February 1, 2019 Author Share Posted February 1, 2019 16 minutes ago, Reggaebass said: I don’t think you will need to take it back to bare wood, I’ve had a few necks that were really sticky even after cleaning with everything, so I decided to take the surface layer off , and I used these nibbing down pads , b&q also sell them , which are used in cabinet making , the necks came out silky smooth 🙂 Cheers, we have a Screwfix nearby, will try that stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reggaebass Posted February 1, 2019 Share Posted February 1, 2019 1 minute ago, JapanAxe said: Cheers, we have a Screwfix nearby, will try that stuff. I think they’re great because they don’t scratch like some sandpaper does , they use them in spray shops for sanding in between coats of polish 🙂 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JapanAxe Posted February 2, 2019 Author Share Posted February 2, 2019 I also had a go once with fine wire wool, but that leaves tiny bits of wire everywhere - I masked off the pickups first btw. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reggaebass Posted February 2, 2019 Share Posted February 2, 2019 2 minutes ago, JapanAxe said: I also had a go once with fine wire wool, but that leaves tiny bits of wire everywhere - I masked off the pickups first btw. Yeah I’m not a fan of wire wool , the little fibres go everywhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
therealting Posted February 2, 2019 Share Posted February 2, 2019 Micro Mesh is excellent - I’ve used it to satin necks and also to polish frets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gary mac Posted February 2, 2019 Share Posted February 2, 2019 9 minutes ago, therealting said: Micro Mesh is excellent - I’ve used it to satin necks and also to polish frets. Micromesh is my choice as well. Also great for fret polishing. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manton Customs Posted February 2, 2019 Share Posted February 2, 2019 (edited) If it is Nitro one explanation could be you have particularly acidic sweat, which wouldn’t effect a poly finish, but it can some Nitro finishes. Nitrocellulose is an evaporative finish which never cures chemically, so can always be dissolved (which your sweat may partially be doing). If you decide you want to remove it, rather than scuff it you can use Acetone. It’s one of the solvents for Nitro, so brings it off very easily. Careful though as it also melts plastic like binding and side dots, so mask off first and be very careful! Just use a rag dampened with it...not a flood of it and don’t go too close to the masked off area. Best case scenario is the neck has Poly undercoat (the “nitro” finished fender bodies do), which Acetone wouldn’t touch, so you wouldn’t need to refinish it after and should solve your stickiness problem. Obviously stripping it is a drastic cure though which would ruin the resale value. But thought that info may be useful if you did decide to. Edited February 2, 2019 by Manton Customs 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ezbass Posted February 2, 2019 Share Posted February 2, 2019 I’ve had issues with sticky lacquer with Fender, Gibson and PRS. One thing I was advised to do was to use some auto polish (Autoglym), which I did with the PRS but you have to keep applying it as it wears away. I also did this with Gibson, but eventually sold both because it was a pain. When I bought a Roadworn P, it had the same issue. However, as it was already treated to look older, I didn’t hesitate to strip the lacquer off with Nitromors and then seal the neck with Danish Oil. It was a great, drag free finish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JapanAxe Posted March 31, 2019 Author Share Posted March 31, 2019 On 01/02/2019 at 22:04, Reggaebass said: I don’t think you will need to take it back to bare wood, I’ve had a few necks that were really sticky even after cleaning with everything, so I decided to take the surface layer off , and I used these nibbing down pads , b&q also sell them , which are used in cabinet making , the necks came out silky smooth 🙂 Did a quick rub-down yesterday afternoon with a medium pad, followed by fine, and achieved a lovely satin finish with little effort. Went on to play a drag-free gig. Result! Many thanks 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krispn Posted March 31, 2019 Share Posted March 31, 2019 I did similar on my p basses and then used Danish Oil on the bare wood and they feel great. Worth the minimal effort if that's the feel you like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JapanAxe Posted March 31, 2019 Author Share Posted March 31, 2019 31 minutes ago, krispn said: I did similar on my p basses and then used Danish Oil on the bare wood and they feel great. Worth the minimal effort if that's the feel you like. I didn't get down to the bare wood but it's still loads better than it was. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krispn Posted March 31, 2019 Share Posted March 31, 2019 10 minutes ago, JapanAxe said: I didn't get down to the bare wood but it's still loads better than it was. Result! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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