anybody sand the neck?

hello
i sanded the neck lightly on a cheap strat copy and it felt better, faster, more comfortable and broken-in nicely. i didn't remove much, just the "gloss" or "shine" which i think was sticking up my hand a bit. i like the feel very much and i'm thinking of sanding the neck on my peavey tele and other guitars. any future problems to this:?:

ldr

Naw, no problem with doing that as long as you didn't go all the way through the poly.

I always do it.
If I have to sell, I buff it back to a shine.

0000 steel wool every other month or so

hello
i sanded the neck lightly on a cheap strat copy and it felt better, faster, more comfortable and broken-in nicely. i didn't remove much, just the "gloss" or "shine" which i think was sticking up my hand a bit. i like the feel very much and i'm thinking of sanding the neck on my peavey tele and other guitars. any future problems to this:?:

ldr

Can I ask how you did that and what you used? I find that the neck on my 52RI HodRod is far too sticky compared with some other guitars, and I am keen to fix this up. Cheers, b.

I've sanded my necks for years. When they start to feel a little sticky or glossy, I use a piece of 800 or 1000 grit from the automotive department. Just sand enough to very slightly scuff it.

Can I ask how you did that and what you used? I find that the neck on my 52RI HodRod is far too sticky compared with some other guitars, and I am keen to fix this up. Cheers, b.

i used sandpaper marked 1200 or something it was the finest abrasive there. i bought it from a hardware and i was just testing it on a throw away guitar. i rubbed it moderately just to remove the top "gloss" . be careful not to rub the top/side fre tmarkers and not to reshape the wood.

Any tips for doing this to a nitro finished neck?

I use a finishing grade Scotchbrite pad. I like to get rid of that extra 1/16" of finish that always seems to be there. I then use rotten stone and mineral oil to polish it back to shape and make it very smooth. Rotten stone is a very mild abrasive--it is used on refinishing wood a lot. A trick I learned with acoustics. I have a '61 J45 that had a waxy build up on it, and even hit that with some Naptha. Works really well.

O.K. I know this may sound a bit sacrilegious, but I hate the feel of nitro on a neck - it is always way too sticky for me. No matter how often I wipe down the neck, it always seems a bit sticky or gets that way very quickly, even in the winter when there is no sweating. :mad:
I either buy my necks unfinished or if with finish I sand down to the bare wood, being careful not to remove any more of the neck than I have to. Smooth it with 320 grit followed by 600 grit sandpaper. I then apply 2 coats of Cabot's Danish Oil (available here in Australia, components: '30-60% Kerosene, 30-60% Synthetic Polymers, 10-30% Mineral Turpentine')
This product was recommended to me by an eminent luthier who works here in Sydney, Gerard Gilet.
The first coat is applied with a cloth and then rubbed in with 600 grit wet-and-dry. The second coat rubbed in with 0000 steel wool.
The end result is smooth and soft as the proverbial baby's bottom (which, I suppose, gives new meaning to the phrase: 'spank the plank!) and is remarkably non-sticky. I like it:grin:

Any tips for doing this to a nitro finished neck?

Go slow.

I always do it, and I don't worry to much what grit it is (usually 400ish, I guess, but really I use whatever is close by.

The beauty is that you just get a piece and use your hand- IMO, it's not a precision operation.

I just sand until it feels right...

I noticed Jeff Beck using what looked like baby/talcum powder on his neck.
Will that cause problems, or does it all just wipe off? Jeff plays a rosewood fingerboard, no finish on the wood.

Is that a bad idea for anyone paying for their own toys?

400-600 sandpaper works fine.
Scotch-brite pads, too.
Very light pressure and only a few passes do the trick very quickly.
I avoid steel wool since I saw a pickup that was furry with the stuff.

I noticed Jeff Beck using what looked like baby/talcum powder on his neck.
Will that cause problems, or does it all just wipe off? Jeff plays a rosewood fingerboard, no finish on the wood.

Is that a bad idea for anyone paying for their own toys?


Considering real talcum powder contains asbestos, I would say that would cause real problems for the babies:confused: Ever notice how Talcum branded powder says, CONTAINS NO ASBESTOS. Check it out next time you are at the Barbershop. Be careful if you have an old bottle laying around, that asbestos is nasty stuff.

But if baby powder is gentle enough to apply ad libitum to a baby's bottom, I don't think its going to hurt a guitar neck. I know for a fact it won't hurt a poly finish because pool rooms all across the country set out baby powder to use as a hand drying agent so your hand doesn't stick to pool cues. Will it hurt a nitro finish over time? What doesn't hurt a nitro finish over time? Seriously, it doesn't like light, humidity changes, temperature changes, sweat, alcohol, etc. etc.

Thanks for all your suggestions - I finally did it today and used a Scotch kitchen pad to sand the neck of my 57RI HR. Gave it a couple of good runs up and down the neck, and couldn't believe how much fine (nitro) dust ended up on the floor.

The neck feels great now, not quite as smooth/clean as a brand new one, and a huge improvement to that sticky beast from before. Go to go and play some more now...

I'm assuming you could apply the same techniques to this finish??

Hey there Todd, I have used the ultra-fine grey Scotch-Brite on poly with no problems. It equals 1000 to 1200 grit. Just a few passes up and down the neck will smooth the finish and speed things up.

I've been doing that for years now. I use 0000 steel wool. You will notice that over time the back and forth motion of your hand will begin to polish the neck again and so you will have to dull it down again.

Green ScotchBrite on my MIM (poly?) neck to take off the shine and the "sticky" feel.

Considering real talcum powder contains asbestos, I would say that would cause real problems for the babies:confused: Ever notice how Talcum branded powder says, CONTAINS NO ASBESTOS. Check it out next time you are at the Barbershop. Be careful if you have an old bottle laying around, that asbestos is nasty stuff.



Most "Talcum Powder" that has been sold since the '70s has been corn starch, and has nothing to do with talc. Same stuff that soups are thickened with, but I wouldn't go around eating baby powder, the perfume they put in it might not be so good for you.

Used to be every bassist I ever saw playing had a baby powder container on top of his amp head, seems like.

talc comes from soapstone dust

i know this because i worked for a sculptor who was also a luthier

and he used it on his sticky guitar necks