fast neck.....

hey peeps, i'm pimping a 12year old squier tele and i think i need to remove all transfers from neck. also, I've heard that an oil finish is 'fast'. Is this true and where does this leave me regarding transfers??

The only thing that makes a neck "faster" is better technique.:wink:

nice one nick! :)
however, having been out recently trying basses, I tried a bunch of fenders and stingrays and the like, very nice but then i tried a schecter and wow, so very much faster - it seemed that all friction had gone! i think that had a satin finish, either way, the difference was huge. I'm concerned that a satin finish will be tricky- that's why the oil finish question.

It depends on what YOU like,I know players that insist that playing on a glossy nitro/poly fiished neck makes them play faster,others that claim that an ebony fretboard is faster and others that a satin finished/oil finished neck is..faster...

TRY all kinds of necks and decide what YOU like..:wink:

cheers mate :) I suppose the next question is does a satin finish feel similar to an oil finish? do you know of any manufacturers that make guitars with oil fineshes?

many thanks,
rob

Well I think G&L does and also Music Man (they put a blend of wax and oil on their necks) of course you can always use these babies (after you strip the neck) and DIY

http://sport.birchwoodcasey.com/files/Wood%20Finishing/Large/lg_tru-oil_gun_stock_finish.jpg

The easiest way to slightly de-gloss your neck is to use one of those green washing up pads - the fairly coarse ones. Scotchbrite is what many people suggest and these are available in some UK supermarkets, but any generic green pad will also work.

Rub it fast up and down the back of the neck until you get a nice even satin type finish. It may go glossy again in time, so this is something you might need to do again every few weeks/months. An alternative is to use 0000-grade wire wool but try the green pad first as it's a bit less drastic. Do this just to the back of the neck and leave the fingerboard alone.

The alternative is to strip all finish off the back of the neck and give it an oil finish (tru oil, tung oil or Danish oil). This is a bit more work and so I would try the green pad or wire wool first and see if you like it.

As for the logo, you can just sand it off along with all of the finish on the front of the headstock. Then you can use one of the oils listed above to refinish the headstock.

cheers lads,

I definately prefer non gloss finishes so I think sanding it down, oiling it and leaving it blank on the headstock is the way ahead for me. Once again, thanks for all the advice, I love it here.

all the best,

Rob.

I only do oil finishes on neck that I use for builds. Rung oil is really easy to work with and the final product feels great in my hand.

I have a Schecter stiletto bass, and the necks on these things are to die for!!! Schecter used an oil finish on them, btw.

I do find the poly finished necks to be "sticky" but would not remove the finish for that reason... Rubbing it down with fine powdered pumice or a paint polishing compound "busts" the surface without scratching it up like the scouring pad does. Result a non-sticky fast neck that looks like new.

I have removed the finish on a couple of necks because of dings, and with these I have lightly oiled them. They look and feel like bare wood. One of them is an unknown timber much harder than maple or mahogany, possibly a mahogany-clone, and iron hard because it is very old. It has a somewhat gnarled surface - very fast and comfortable to play.

hey guys,
loving this thread! the schecter i tried was a stilletto and my missus is off to get it for my 40th today!!! if that's an oil finish rhen I'm definately in! the other reason being is that by the time I'm finished, it simply wont be a squier anymore :-
singles ro tappable buckers
new machine heads
binding
new bridge/ plate
it is, however, taking an age!

all the best,

rob

hey peeps, i'm pimping a 12year old squier tele and i think i need to remove all transfers from neck. also, I've heard that an oil finish is 'fast'. Is this true and where does this leave me regarding transfers??
Why not just leave the headstock face alone and refinish the rest of the neck to your liking. Or, if you want to change the decals, just refin the headstock face alone in Lacquer or Poly over the new decals.

hi qehqeh,
thanks for the suggeston but I've fallen for the oil finish in tems of feel whilst playing. As for the logo, given that every piece of hardware will be upgraded it will no longer really be a squier. I think I'll probably leave it blank.....