Neck finish

[DaveW]

Hi everyone ,
I was just putting my 2 bobs worth in on Stags finish query and just wanted your collective opinions on a neck finish
I finish my builds with french polish but have used TruOil on the necks as I didnt think french polish would stand up? and I must say I dont like the oil finish ,its ok when its first done but then seems to become very "sticky / grippy" for lack of a better term
I was thinking of changing to a hard shellac as it seems that it would wear a lot better than oil but would it be ok for a neck?
Can you guys give me some ideas?
my method of oil finish was just give lots of coats with a sand between until it looked ok ,
I have no experience with danish oil or anything else but am open to any .
oh by the way nitro cellulose is a no no due to I just dont have the facility to and dont want to use it
thanks for any help
Dave

[simso]

Come and see me dave.

I dont like nitro on necks because it imprints so easily, I am a fan of two pack poly, however these days we use uv clear which is hard as nails and silky smooth to the touch.

Your welcome to come up and have a play, just bring some beers along

Steve

[liam_fnq]

Come and see me dave.

I dont like nitro on necks because it imprints so easily, I am a fan of two pack poly, however these days we use uv clear which is hard as nails and silky smooth to the touch.

Your welcome to come up and have a play, just bring some beers along

Steve

Just how easy is "so easy"? I've got a bunch of instruments with nitro necks without imprints.

[simso]

Put them onto a guitar stand that the neck rests into or a guitar stand that hangs the guitar from its neck and then get back to me, we repair weekly guitars with nitro necks that have rested against stands

[DarwinStrings]

Hi Dave, sounds like you are off the oil but I'll say it anyway. For the first time I recently used oil on a neck and so far I am very impressed, I have always loved it on furniture for the look and always noted that it felt good. So as the guitar I just made was aimed for the stand on my workshop floor as my shed guitar I thought I would give it ago, see what I get. I didn't grain fill just nice fine sand first, then I added about four coats of blonde 1lb cut shellac with a wad of cotton rag. Next I did three coats of burnishing oil (was Feast Watson not sure about how different True oil is) applying one coat with cotton rage leaving it ten minutes then buffing it off with soft dry towel, left it 24 hours then again then again till three coats. So far I have only played it for a month so wear factor is unknown (easy to touch up, or simply maintain with maybe a annual oil and buff off) The feel is fantastic, better than any of the plastics I have felt. I took it in to my wife (who has much more sensitive finger tips than mine) and asked her to wipe her fingers across the pre-cat lacquered back and then the neck, without prompting or information from me she said the neck was a lot less sticky, smoother. It's nice when she agrees with me

Jim

[martintaylor]

I finish to 1200 then 6 coats of Danish Oil (Rustins) then 2 coats of U-Beaut Polish. Works beautifully on a neck.

[Craig Bumgarner]

I've had good luck with a coat or two of oil based varnish like Z-Spar's Captains or Epiphanes to seal and provide a base, and then finish with FP. Holds up well, plays great. Straight varnish works good too. Without the varnish base, the FP has worn through on at least one well played guitar, but it is not really that noticeable. On my guitars, FP holds up much better on necks than on bodies, which to me is not what I would have expected. On mine, FP fails from perspiration at fore arm and chest contact points, but necks hold up well. That this works out is nice because FP is an easy way of dealing with the multiple surfaces and edges on a neck. I used to try to be "authentic" with FP in the final polish, but now I just use my 14" arbor buffer after it has set up well. Works great.

What has not worked well is K-9 water based acrylic lacquer. It looks great if you like the high polished look, but the feel has a lot of drag, not good for a neck. I salvaged the one I did with steel wool to break the gloss, but I won't be using it again. On the other hand, K-10, the trial version of Grafted Coatings' water based urethane lacquer had a very nice feel to it, very hard and high gloss if you want it. Not available yet and final version may be different.

In general, my customers seem to prefer the lower gloss and thinner finish I can achieve with varnish and/or FP for both the bodies and necks.

No experience with nitro or two part finishes (well, I've sprayed a lot of boats with Awlgrip, a two part urethane, but not eager to use this on a guitar).

[Mark McLean]

I'm with Jim and Martin in voting for Danish Oil for necks. I have done my last 3 builds that way. Those guitars get daily use and one is now 5 years old. It is holding up really well and it has a much better feel than the nitro finish on one of my factory-built guitars.
Mark

[Nick]

I've always finished as per the customer's request which is invariably Lacquer, a few with the satin, which I personally like the feel of as your hand doesn't 'drag' like it seems to with a gloss finish and maybe a harder gloss finish such as Steve's UV would eliminate this. But recently I built a Cigar Box guitar for a customer and in fitting with the "just nailed it together" feel of the instrument, I ended up finishing the neck with Danish oil (I've used it before under lacquer to give figured Maple a really silky look after reading somewhere, years ago, that PRS used it the same way to enhance their Maple tops). I would do it again in a heartbeat! it gave the neck a beautiful smooth silky feeling and when it gets a little grubby, a rub with steel wool to get the grime off and another application of oil and we're back to having a new neck again, even the customer can maintain the finish.
Danish Oil drys out fully too due to the varnish content in it, unlike some other oil finishes so you don't get that "sticky" feel. Just keep applying coats (letting it dry in between) until the wood doesn't soak any more up and you are actually building up a surface, then a quick rub with 0000 grade Steel wool to buff it and you have instant baby's bottom.
Just my 5 cents worth (before tax).

[Dekka]

If I play on a gloss neck my thumb has too much friction. It's like rubbing a cork on glass. I prefer an oil finish on an acoustic neck but on an electric neck I use poly and then rub the back with 0000 steel wool to give it slip.
I found that Feast-Watson Buffing oil came up well on Mahogany but before I applied it I ran over the neck with a damp cloth, waited for the loose fibres to stand to attention and then smoothed them down with very fine paper.

[peter.coombe]

I don't like nitro on necks so use the same varnish I use on my mandolins. The varnish has a much slicker feel to it on a guitar neck. Basically it is Target Coatings EM2000 with a thin overcoat of french polish. USA manufactured oil varnishes such as Captains Z-spar are great, but are varnish unobtainium here in Australia because they are classified as hazardous substances. EM2000 is a water based oil emulsion and is stocked by Stew Mac so is easy to get and goes on great from a brush. KTM SV is chemically very similar and looks and feels identical to me, but I prefer EM2000 because it is easier to brush. Like any finish it takes practice, but I get excellent results from EM2000.

[Clancy]

Another + for Danish Oil, burnished in sandpaper.

[vandenboom]

Allen put me onto Whittle's wax which he was using on Uke's. I lacquer guitar bodies but use Whittles wax on the necks - durable, easy/safe application, and as a player, I love the feel.
Frank