Formby's low gloss or Watco Danish Oil?

Trying to figure out which finish to put on an all maple neck. Looking for a couple key things:


Something that will darken/oxidize fairly quickly with exposure to things like sunlight and hand oils, etc., this is a big requirement as right now the neck is a bone white Allparts neck (I've tried tinted lacquers and they're all too orange/yellowish)
Something that will feel like bare wood (i.e. smooth, not sticky)
Something that only needs a couple coats, easily applied with a rag and dries fairly quickly (within a day or so)


Would Watco Danish Oil or Formby's Low Gloss Tung Oil Finish work better for my needs?

Trying to figure out which finish to put on an all maple neck. Looking for a couple key things:


Something that will darken/oxidize fairly quickly with exposure to things like sunlight and hand oils, etc., this is a big requirement as right now the neck is a bone white Allparts neck (I've tried tinted lacquers and they're all too orange/yellowish)
Something that will feel like bare wood (i.e. smooth, not sticky)
Something that only needs a couple coats, easily applied with a rag and dries fairly quickly (within a day or so)


Would Watco Danish Oil or Formby's Low Gloss Tung Oil Finish work better for my needs?

I had used some natural watco danish oil on a gunstock before. It applies very well with a rag. It will still feel like wood, and it will dirty up some with use. Because it did start to dirty up on me, I ended up sealing the danish oil with a wipe on satin polyurethane.

I like the Watco Danish oil. The application process is long and labor intensive to get it right, but when you do the results are great. The wood feels good, 3-dimensional, etc.

After sanding to whatever final grit you desire, wipe on a coat of oil and let it sit for about 20-30 min. Then wipe it all off with a lint free cloth or paper towel. Rub good and hard because you want each layer to be real thin. Let dry overnight. After 24 hours or so, go over it with 0000 or 000 steel wool. Wipe away all the shavings and excess anything with a little naphtha on a rag. Repeat with next coat of oil. Do this every day for a week and a half to two weeks, buff and wax. You will be amazed at how beautiful it is.

I can do that, Tiskit! I bought some Watco Danish Oil last night. I initially bought Natural, but it didn't seem to darken things as much as I thought it would, so I returned it for some Golden Oak. A little better, but still not as "aged" looking as I'd like. I don't want something that looks like Eddie Van Halen's frankenstrat neck :), or anything too orangey either (like alot of the reissue strats and teles I've seen).

Should I grab something like medium walnut Danish Oil? I figure since the initial coats that went on were Natural, and the 2nd coating was Golden Oak, that something like a Light or Medium Walnut shouldn't penetrate too deep and make things too dark.

A buddy of mine used Dark Walnut or Black Walnut on a maple neck he was using for his EVH Frankenstrat build, and it looks EXACTLY like Eddie's neck! All greyish brown, looks like it's soaked up 10 years worth of nicotine, smoke and sweat!

So I'm thinking the Medium Walnut should work well for subsequent coats on my neck to get me that slightly more aged look? Or should I just stick w/ the Golden Oak?

Hard to say, I think you'll probably have to experiment. I've only used the dark walnut, red mahogany (looks awesome on mahogany), and golden oak, but I haven't used any of them on maple. I think you'll be okay with the medium walnut. In my experience, subsequent coats do darken a little bit, but not that much so you can pretty much see what you're going to get color wise from the beginning. What happens over time is the finish deepens and lusters. It definitely takes patience.

Here's some red mahogany on mahogany before and after:

http://i1200.photobucket.com/albums/bb325/tiskit86/LesTele/DSC_0899.jpg

http://i1200.photobucket.com/albums/bb325/tiskit86/LesTele/DSC_0906.jpg