Should neck pocket bottoms be sealed?

Hi, I am currently building one Tele and one Strat-style partscaster. These are my first builds using unfinished parts and I have the color coats completed and flat-sanded (the Tele is Re-ranch Shell Pink and The Strat is Sea Foam Green) and I am now ready to start applying clear coats.

My question is: Should I apply a coat or two of the clear lacquer to the bottoms of the neck pockets or should I leave them bare wood. My sincerest apologies if this topic has been covered before, but I couldn't find anything using the forum search. Thanks...

~Shannon

Seal it, I do a wash coat on any hidden bare wood.

What I have started to do is after about 3 coats of finish (whatever I’m using) then I tape the neck pocket off. If my neck fit is really tight before I finish the extra finish material seems to be just enough to make the fit to tight. I do like some finish in the pocket especially if you wet sanding .

I find I just put some left over tinted sealer or lacquer where the stick kept the paint off in the middle there. I usually sand the pocket lovingly by hand to get a nice fit. So as to not have a high spot the neck presses against create a stress rises that will make the finish crack later... YMMV

I don't think it is necessary, but I like to let the first sealer coat carry over into the neck pocket and other routing in the body just for good measure.

Deleted — redundant.

I don't think it is necessary, but I like to let the first sealer coat carry over into the neck pocket and other routing in the body just for good measure.
That what I do too - before I used sealer I would just let the first coat of lacquer go over the bottom of the heal kind of like what SacDAve and robt57 mentioned. If I used only lacquer - I just give the heal a very light sanding with 600gt paper. I only do this on the bottom of the heal and try to keep the finish really thin on the rest of the neck including the sides of the heal.

That what I do too - before I used sealer I would just let the first coat of lacquer go over the bottom of the heal kind of like what SacDAve and robt57 mentioned. If I used only lacquer - I just give the heal a very light sanding with 600gt paper. I only do this on the bottom of the heal and try to keep the finish really thin on the rest of the neck including the sides of the heal.

Thank you all for your replies. The neck on the Strat is already sealed with sanding sealer (both bodies are swamp ash). The Tele was sealed too, but I deepened the pocket a little bit after sealing, and I probably routed through the sealed thickness. Maybe I should just give it a thin coat of lacquer. I don't want to add any thickness, especially on the sides as the neck is already a very snug fit.

The Strat, on the other hand, is not super tight-fitting, so I may just go ahead and apply a couple coats of the clear to it and see if that won't tighten the fit up a little more.

Again, thank you all for your help. This site is absolutely wonderful and you all have so much great info to share. :)

Raw wood to wood is not an issue, IMO.

I find myself scraping away excess finish; if none gets behind the painting stick, I am not the least bit worried.

I don't like a super abrupt finish transition from the inside of the neck pocket to the exterior body surface. To reduce the risk of chipping, is what this is about.