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Smoothing a glossy neck finish


NeilC

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I'm loving my new Sheraton II Pro. Great guitar. But the neck finish is more glossy than I like. I've lightly sanded natural finish necks to get a more satin feel, but this one is wine red. Any ideas how I can take some of the sticky gloss down a notch without scratching the heck out of the red finish?

 

--Neil

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A kitchen type scouring pad + elbow grease might just take the gloss off without doing too much damage.

No elbow grease needed. And you are not going to do ANY damage to it at all.

I have done this to at least a dozen guitars. It is easy, quick, and totally foul-proof.

 

You can get those little yellow sponges with the soft yellow sponge on one side and the rough green material on the other side.

Or even better, you can buy a pack of just the green rough sides alone, without the sponge. The are cheap at any grocery, drug, or hardware store. I always have a pack around.

 

Just run it down the back of the neck and that sticky gloss will just brush off so easily. It may take you 10-15 minutes your first try. But after a while it will be much faster.

I now do it to the backs of all my glossy guitars on the back of the neck. And it only takes me about 3 minutes. No joke.

 

I have never even come close to doing any damage to any of my guitars. Never.

I would not use steel wool however. That I could see causing some damage if you were not careful.

Believe me, once you do it, you will want to do it to all of those glossy back necks! :)

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Hmmm, now you've got me thinking...

Wait and see if this guy tries it and he can vouch for it's quality.

 

I have some satin backed necks I leave alone. And I don't do it to my Fenders for some reason. I think it's just because Epis and other brands sometimes have such a thick coat on there that it can really get in the way sometimes from allowing your hand to move freely.

Once you do the green sponge treatment on the neck, it feels so.....smoooooooth. It feels like a satin finish back there. [thumbup]

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Wait and see if this guy tries it and he can vouch for it's quality.

So I was all set to experiment on this with my Wildkat and then saw the replies from m-evans and kidblast. Hmmm...resale is not an issue since I don't plan (at this stage anyway) selling any guitars, and if I did, I could price it accordingly if a prospective buyer had an issue. I know that opinions are like, well, you know, but hey. consensus here? I mean, it's only one guitar of many that I have, so????

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Glossy necks are just fine.

 

I don't find any advantage to doing this.

They may seem fine to you, but many guitarists don't like them. A bunch of poly on the back of any guitar neck causes me problems. My hand sweats, and then moving my hand up and down the neck is very hard to do.

So maybe YOU don't find any advantage to this, but I do. And so do many others.

 

I don't either.

 

and the resale value just got boned IMHO..

Resale value?? Are you kidding me?

So I am supposed to play a guitar that causes me problems just so I can get more money for it if I decide to sell it some day?

That's nuts!!!

I mod my guitars to play the way I want them too. Resale value is not even a consideration at all. Hell, I wouldn't have down half the mods I have done to my guitars if I was worried about resale value. I want them to be set up the way that is the best for me. If that means getting the gloss off the back of the neck, then I do it. And BTW, a smooth neck on the back would be a plus for me if I was going to buy a used guitar. I can't see too many people not buying a guitar because the shiny stuff is off the back of the neck, and now it plays real smooth.

 

So I was all set to experiment on this with my Wildkat and then saw the replies from m-evans and kidblast. Hmmm...resale is not an issue since I don't plan (at this stage anyway) selling any guitars, and if I did, I could price it accordingly if a prospective buyer had an issue. I know that opinions are like, well, you know, but hey. consensus here? I mean, it's only one guitar of many that I have, so????

Dennis, if the back of the neck is bothering you when you play, then do it. You will be happy. I guarantee it!

If I didn't already have a Wildkat, I would promise to buy yours if you didn't like it. But I have one. In fact, I have done the back of the necks for my Wildkat, My G400, my G & L Ascari GTS (not a cheap guitar), my '97 Epi SG Jr., a couple of others I currently own.

I would do them to my expensive Gibsons, but they are already Satin finished on the back of the neck so I don't have to.

 

Use a cheap guitar if you want to your first time.

Or just do the Wildkat. You will like it!

It is so easy to do. And like I have said, it is just impossible to screw anything up.

You will thank me..... [thumbup]

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I had a Taylor with a satin neck from the factory and loved it. My other guitars are all gloss and luckily work just as well for me. Do have any pictures of how the neck looks afterwards? Thanks. [thumbup]

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Never tried it myself, but I've seen this more than a few times as a "fix".

 

Hi Dennis,

 

Do you actually have a problem with the neck finish on your guitar? Because if you don't, you wont need a solution.

 

If you do, can I ask you this...

Are you fully releasing your grip when changing neck position? Lots of players don’t. I suspect they are the ones who find benefit from sanding the neck.

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Resale value?? Are you kidding me?

So I am supposed to play a guitar that causes me problems just so I can get more money for it if I decide to sell it some day?

That's nuts!!!

I mod my guitars to play the way I want them too. Resale value is not even a consideration at all. Hell, I wouldn't have down half the mods I have done to my guitars if I was worried about resale value. I want them to be set up the way that is the best for me. If that means getting the gloss off the back of the neck, then I do it. And BTW, a smooth neck on the back would be a plus for me if I was going to buy a used guitar. I can't see too many people not buying a guitar because the shiny stuff is off the back of the neck, and now it plays real smooth.

 

your guitar Brad, take a friggen belt sander to it, I honestly could not GAF..

 

relax..

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New guitars are troubling to me with their heavy lacquer finishes. They feel sticky. Yeech!! What is my norm is the kitchen green pad or #400 grit

wet/dry sand paper. Epiphone really ladles on the stain/lacquer. All that a light buffing/scuffing will do is make the neck less sticky. It took

me 5 days worth of sanding to take that darn red stain/lacquer off my studio LP.

If the slightly duller appearance bothers you. A

pply a little wax to the neck. This is what those who like the more natural wood look and feel do.

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Hi Dennis,

 

Do you actually have a problem with the neck finish on your guitar?

I don't have a "problem" per se, but I do have a Carvin guitar with a tung oil neck, and my MIM Strat has a "satin" finish on the neck. I will say that they seem a bit more "user friendly" if you will, which was why I'd been thinking of trying this on my Wildkat. You know, the old "nothing ventured..."

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Okay, update. Had some time to kill today so took a kitchen scotchbrite to the neck of my Wildkat. Within a very few minutes, and with very little "sanding" if you will, there was a noticeable difference in the "user friendly" feel of the neck (see my earlier post re: tung oil finish neck on my Carvin). As always, my experience only, and YMMV. Pics wouldn't really show a difference in appearance, only gloss level. Gonna consider this on my other Epi's as well. As previously noted, resale is not an issue with me, and a lot of my guitars have been modded to suit me and are not going to get the money out of them that I've put into them (my heirs problem, not mine) [flapper]

 

I guess I've not really contributed to the issue other than it worked for me (so far).

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Okay, update. Had some time to kill today so took a kitchen scotchbrite to the neck of my Wildkat. Within a very few minutes, and with very little "sanding" if you will, there was a noticeable difference in the "user friendly" feel of the neck (see my earlier post re: tung oil finish neck on my Carvin). As always, my experience only, and YMMV. Pics wouldn't really show a difference in appearance, only gloss level. Gonna consider this on my other Epi's as well. As previously noted, resale is not an issue with me, and a lot of my guitars have been modded to suit me and are not going to get the money out of them that I've put into them (my heirs problem, not mine) [flapper]

 

I guess I've not really contributed to the issue other than it worked for me (so far).

:) [thumbup]

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