Affinty neck nitro advice

['ol hank pank]

Please Advise, I would like to use the rest of my re ranch nitrocellulose spray. I wanted to nitro the neck of my (as of yet) un modded affinity ( I am moving upstate so I'm holding projects until then).

Does the neck need to be stripped? Could I stain? What color? Is it necessary? Would it given my the amber tint?

ANy help is (as always) appreicated.

[Kevin]

You'll probably be able to get away with just roughing the surface of the neck up a bit...

Try sanding it with 320 grit. Then wipe it down with Naphtha. Finally, wipe it down with lacquer thinner -- sometimes this helps promote adhesion.

Spray the first few coats very lightly -- sometimes lacquer -- and especially dye/lacquer blends -- wants to roll off poly, but a "dusting" should stick. After you get a smooth build, you can start spraying heavier.

For tinting, you could spray it with either ReRanch neck amber or butterscotch/burst. Personally, I've decided that I prefer the butterscotch/burst for necks, as it's a bit more golden and less yellow than the neck amber, so it requires fewer coats to get the color I'm after. If you go with the butterscotch, though, remember to spray lightly and don't spray too much; it's very easy to get it too dark with that stuff.

The clear lacquer will enhance the color of the tint, so you might want to stop tinting about the time you think, "One more tint coat will do it." You can always spray an additional tint coat over clear, if necessary, but it's harder to go backwards.

Usually, I find that three or four coats of clear is quite sufficient for a neck -- I don't do between-coat sanding -- but YMMV, due to differences in our spraying techniques.

['ol hank pank]

Thanks!

So, when its time to spray, color or laquer first? I can a bit of both left. I have some butter scotch left from a body I did last summer along with the nitrocellulose.

What about the frets? Do I spray right over those? I will be replacing the tuner and (probably) the nut.

[Kevin]

OK... On that butterscotch, note that it's not "butterscotch blonde" paint that you buy to make a '52 copy, but "butterscotch," which is a tinted, clear lacquer. You don't want to be painting your neck with a pigmented lacquer....

Generally, I just go with the tint first, if I'm using butterscotch. If I'm using neck amber, I'll often mist a coat of clear lacquer on it first, cos of the dye-rolling-off problem.

['ol hank pank]

Thats for the correction in the butter scotch color. That would have looked really, ummm... custom.

I'll just go w the clear.


Okay to spray the frets?

[Kevin]

Yeah, go ahead and spray them. You can either scrape it off after it dries, or just play it off....

['ol hank pank]

For your help.

[Kevin]

Anytime...

[OaklandA]

Originally Posted by 'ol hank pank

Please Advise, I would like to use the rest of my re ranch nitrocellulose spray. I wanted to nitro the neck of my (as of yet) un modded affinity ( I am moving upstate so I'm holding projects until then).

Does the neck need to be stripped? Could I stain? What color? Is it necessary? Would it given my the amber tint?

ANy help is (as always) appreicated.

I'm about to start the final polishing stage of doing exactly what you're asking about. You can spray it right on that Affinity neck. Just clean the neck really well to get any oils or dirt off and try not to handle the neck through the process.

I used 3 coats of ReRanch Neck Amber, followed by about 5 coats Clear. Really, really light misted coats. So far it looks great. The color is pretty much spot on for a late 50's-early 60's style nitro neck. When the polishing is complete I expect it to look pretty nice.

IMO the ReRanch products are very good.

[jidai]

I am thinking of doing this in my Squier project as well. Could you guys mention specific products and where to get them for a nitro job like this? What about for a High-Gloss job.

Sorry for the obvious stuff, I am really new to modding my axes, but you just spray it on? Don't you have to buff it or something also? Is there a general guide for finishing a neck someone can point me to?

[Kevin]

For a general guide, go to <a href ="http://www.reranch.com">the ReRanch site</a> and then select "Fender Neck Refinishing" from the menu at the top.

Again, I'd recommend sanding the neck of the Affinity somewhat to rough it up. Lacquer doesn't make a chemical bond with poly (i.e. it doesn't melt into it), so you need a mechanical bond. That only comes from having a "rough" surface (though 320 grit hardly leaves a rough surface) for the lacquer to grip to. The spray will stick to an unsanded poly surface, but it will likely chip off very easily.

AFA gloss finishes, if you get gloss nitro, you'll have a glossy finish.

Yes; you do have to rub/polish necks out. The ReRanch site explains the entire process.

[Tiddles]

Kevin – when you spray a neck or body, do you hang it by some clever method, & spray the entire thing. Or do you lay it flat & just spray the top surface, then turn over & spray the other side? How do you avoid any runs/drips? Or what’s your practical procedure?

Also, I could sure use some advice on repairing a fairly large chip through the paint (2ins x 1ins) on the upper rear edge of a Tele body – I tried a mix of natural coloured wood filler plus a little opaque white wood glue, plus some yellow oil-based paint to give a colour match (ie on a faded cream-yellow opaque Tele body). I hoped to get a near invisible repair, but so far 2 attempts just look a mess :( .

Ian.

[Kevin]

I generally just lay the neck on a quart paint can and spray it, let that side dry, flip it over, and spray the other side.

I really don't have problems with runs, cos I don't spray it that wet.

AFA the body, that sounds like some type of chemistry experiment... I really couldn't tell you what to do without seeing it in person.

Solvent-based wood filler will usually fill the area without shrinking. After that, the best thing to do is probably spray the area with finish that matches the old finish as closely as possible. It'll be hard to get right without a total refin, I bet

[Tiddles]

Kevin – OK thanks for that. Maybe I could just try using plain off-white wood filler & then sanding it smooth to look like an area of natural wear, as if years of use had worn it down to the original primer coat. Or just live with an ugly scar I guess :? .

Ian.

[OaklandA]

Originally Posted by Tiddles

Kevin – when you spray a neck or body, do you hang it by some clever method, & spray the entire thing. Or do you lay it flat & just spray the top surface, then turn over & spray the other side? How do you avoid any runs/drips? Or what’s your practical procedure?

One good method is to fashion a "handle" per Rob DiStefano's method. A good explanation is here:
http://www.tdpri.com/viewtopic.php?t=19645

This will guarantee no accidental smudging or getting any oils from your hands on the neck. Also by hanging by the handle your get good even access and drying. It works pretty well. To avoid runs mist on light coats from about 18 inches away. It will go on real even and not wet at all.

IMO when you polish I wouldn't follow ReRanch's instructions quite to the letter. Instead of starting with 400 grit, I would start at maybe 800 and work your way to 2000 and then Finesse-It or a polish. If you start with 400 you will easily get "sand-through". With such a thin layer or stain and clear coat, 800 is a good place to start...even 1000 might be ok. It will still come out glossy and nice looking.

I found this out the hard way and had to go back and re-stain and clear coat to repair the sand-through spots..

[Kevin]

Yeah; I don't sand with anything below 800 on a finish, but it really depends on how well you spray......

I've dropped quite a few necks by trying to hang them from the tuner holes...

One thing that works well, though, if you have a pin hole at the heel, is to run a screw into that hole and use a pants hangar (the one with the cardboard tube -- but the tube removed) and clip the little bends around the screw.

That works quite well, but I've found that I can spray better with the neck lying flat....

[Tiddles]

OK thanks for the advice guys. Maybe I still don’t have the skill to make a really neat job of neck finish & body repair, but at least I now have some solid advice about methods & grit size etc. Must be an improvement over what Kevin correctly identified as my earlier “chemistry experiment" :? .

Ian.