Best (or favorite) way to finish a maple neck and fingerboard for an aged finish WITHOUT spraying it

[telewhacked]

Ok Gentlemen,

The last time I finished an all maple neck and fingerboard in lacquer, I promised myself I was going to investigate other ways of doing it. I can't stand sanding/scraping between frets and the whole process just seems so much more tedious than doing the same thing on a rosewood neck.

Well, the time has now come again and I'm about to start an all maple Allparts neck.

I have always been pretty much exclusively a nitro lacquer guy and like the relic/aged look and I have very little to no experience using oils, stains, or waxes on necks, but see guys using stuff like True Oil and various other stains and such on necks with good success.

So my question for everyone is:

Is there a reliable method for getting an aged/ambered look on a maple neck and fingerboard without spraying any lacquer at all... and what is it?

Tell me you experiences and favorite methods.

Thanks!

 

[Boreas]

Brushing/wiping poly is out of the question?

 

[telewhacked]

Brushing/wiping poly is out of the question?

Thanks. Yeah, I’d like to not use poly if possible. More interested in oil or wax. Ideally something that either comes in various shades of tint or can be tinted to get a brown/amber look.

 

[telewhacked]

Sanding between frets is something I have no interest in doing anymore if I can avoid it. Just wanting to experiment with a way to get a reasonably durable oil or wax finish that can be shaded in a brown/amber and will go onto maple uniformly and not uneven or splotchy.

 

[RodeoTex]

If it's a Warmoth neck you'll void any warranty by doing an oil finish.
I really don't know why people keep doing that. That never was historically correct and still doesn't give the maple much protection for long.
Now people will chime in with stories about how their oil jobs they did in 1970 are still awesome...

 

[Peegoo]

Danish oil. Watco and Minwax sell it in several tints. Wipe it on, allow it to sit for about 20 minutes, wipe the wood completely dry. Allow to dry overnight. Repeat this process for three or four days.

 

[bebopbrain]

If it's a Warmoth neck you'll void any warranty by doing an oil finish.
I really don't know why people keep doing that.

I really don't know why people finish necks at all.
Warmoth says 10% of unfinished maple necks warp (hence no warrantee).
But the cost of finishing is much more than 10%.

 

[RodeoTex]

I really don't know why people finish necks at all.
Warmoth says 10% of unfinished maple necks warp (hence no warrantee).
But the cost of finishing is much more than 10%.

A can of Minwax or Watco is less than 10 bucks.

 

[Beebe]

I think the most convincing way would look something like this:

Seal the wood well with dewaxed shellac or some oil compatible sealer.

Get a tube of a semi transparent artist oil paint in an amber color, maybe an ocher (depending on the look you want). Squeeze it into a jar of pure turpentine and shake it up.

Get a bucket of pure tung oil and pour the jar of diluted paint into it. Mix.

Wipe on - wipe off one thin coat once a month for about a year.

Obviously the scale here is kinda crazy. If you want to go faster, add a siccative to cure the oil overnight instead of in 30 days. Just means you should probably wear gloves now.

And the portions are for visualization of about how much paint to oil I imagine it might take... Having never actually tried this. (Edit: Obviously scale down, you probably only need a small jar total).

This is a lot like old school varnishing with a tinted oil varnish though. They always seal first.

Sealing the wood first and then building up the amber will be more predictable than applying any color to the wood directly.

 

[clickitysplit]

Wudtone makes a vintage oil finish for maple necks.

Available in the US via BYOGuitar.com.

I used it to good effect on this recent Tele Partscaster. Toned it up nicely, and though this picture doesn’t quite do it justice, trust me the raw maple neck was very pale beforehand. Also, this was taken just after application so it looks a little glossy here, but this isn’t their glossy stuff. More of a satin.

 

[ChicknPickn]

Along the lines of what Beebe said, wiping shellac is actually fun. You just want to practice on scrap a little to get the feel of it. I have enjoyed using TransTint dyes in shellac. Shellac is not the unusably fragile finish some people believe it to be if you mix it using absolutely fresh denatured alcohol and dewaxed flakes. People get hooked on shellac because it makes grain pop in a very satisfying way. It is true that putting poly or nitro over it produces a superior finish. But even alone, when it is applied under proper temperature and humidity conditions, it is a lovely and surprisingly durable finish. It will "relic" more rapidly than other finishes. One nice thing about shellac is that, any time you want to, you can strip it off with an alcohol-soaked rag, or you can add onto it. Repairs are super easy.

Anyway, I've been a fan of amber shellac flakes for a long time. Red and yellow dyes used very sparingly can increase the warmth of the finish. It's my opinion that you'd be hard pressed to find a better base for nitro or poly, but it's sweet on its own.

 

[Ed Storer]

Ernie Ball Music Man’s necks and bodies go through multiple stages of hand sanding to create flawless finishes ensuring maximum playability. Each guitar neck is matched to its body with a polyurethane finish or hand-rubbed and polished with gunstock oil and wax

From the EBMM site.

 

[stratisfied]

I really don't know why people finish necks at all.
Warmoth says 10% of unfinished maple necks warp (hence no warrantee).
But the cost of finishing is much more than 10%.

The finish protects the wood and most people prefer to handle a clean neck rather than one that looks like an old 2x4 from a construction site. An unfinished maple neck gets black just from handling before you even play it.

 

[Beebe]

Along the lines of what Beebe said, wiping shellac is actually fun. You just want to practice on scrap a little to get the feel of it. I have enjoyed using TransTint dyes in shellac. Shellac is not the unusably fragile finish some people believe it to be if you mix it using absolutely fresh denatured alcohol and dewaxed flakes. People get hooked on shellac because it makes grain pop in a very satisfying way. It is true that putting poly or nitro over it produces a superior finish. But even alone, when it is applied under proper temperature and humidity conditions, it is a lovely and surprisingly durable finish. It will "relic" more rapidly than other finishes. One nice thing about shellac is that, any time you want to, you can strip it off with an alcohol-soaked rag, or you can add onto it. Repairs are super easy.

Anyway, I've been a fan of amber shellac flakes for a long time. Red and yellow dyes used very sparingly can increase the warmth of the finish. It's my opinion that you'd be hard pressed to find a better base for nitro or poly, but it's sweet on its own.

I agree! Here are a few of my projects with shellac based homebrew spirit varnish sprayed over hard wax oil... Yes, the opposite of what I recommend above. This is my preferred method. I think tinted oil over shellac sealer will look more like aged nitro though (Edit: and be easier than French polishing for a wipe on finish).

 

[ChicknPickn]

I agree! Here are a few of my projects with shellac based homebrew spirit varnish sprayed over hard wax oil... Yes, the opposite of what I recommend above. This is my preferred method. I think tinted oil over shellac sealer will look more like aged nitro though (Edit: and be easier than French polishing for a wipe on finish).


View attachment 1023785

Yep. Those warm tones look very familiar. Tasty, like caramel.

 

[Beebe]

If it's a Warmoth neck you'll void any warranty by doing an oil finish.
I really don't know why people keep doing that. That never was historically correct and still doesn't give the maple much protection for long.
Now people will chime in with stories about how their oil jobs they did in 1970 are still awesome...

Maybe not in Fender's history, but oil is historically the preferred varnish type for classical stringed instruments.

Violin varnish usually contains resins in addition to oil; most of the oils and hard wax oils that come highly recommend here do as well.

I think the main difference in application is the violin maker will seal the wood with a "ground" first (aka sealer). This may only matter on thin pieces of wood where a bunch of oil soaking in can change the resonance. The violin maker will also build the varnish up pretty thick.

Hard wax oil is intended to soak into the wood, bond, and seal in a single coat, or maybe 2. It makes a really great feeling neck. I suspect you can build up a thick coating by applying multiple coats, but I'm not sure how well it bonds to itself. It's kind of designed to not bond to itself... you can do spot repairs by flooding additional HWO on to sanded areas and have it blend seamlessly with the finished areas around it.

Drying oils have been built up in multiple layers historically. On things like horse carriages, and boats, for example.

Edit: Actually I'm unsure. It looks like an oil finish could possibly have been in Fender's history. This is one of the first guitars shown in the Pinecaster book series. It's sure giving off an oil / shellac kinda vibe at least. But I'm no expert at recognizing these things.

 

[telemnemonics]

Danish oil. Watco and Minwax sell it in several tints. Wipe it on, allow it to sit for about 20 minutes, wipe the wood completely dry. Allow to dry overnight. Repeat this process for three or four days.

Yeah I love hand rubbed oil finishesand have used them for more than 40 years but voc laws keep changing the formulas on at least some of them, mostly for the worse.

 

[telemnemonics]

I have a new Warmoth maple neck coming soon and will probably use Minwax Tung Oil Finish on it, but may catch a wild hair and toss a first coat of boiled linseed. Linseed adds amber and a bit of darkening but it’s been a while since I’ve used it and would need to test on some scrap maple.
Maple is very white and resists natural darkening.
Got this neck used with a crap mystery finish on it which I sanded off and replaced with the Minwax. Not a tinted can, just their Tung Oil Finish which is both oils and poly. This is in bright direct sun, just a slight amber snd while not the garish white maple it’s a nice look.
I think we are used to Fender putting excess orange in vintage tints so we think we need dark orangy amber to be happy.

 

[Peegoo]

Note that products sold as tung oil and Danish oil are actually not traditional oil treatments; they are more akin to boiled linseed oil: they dry hard. The difference is they dry hard in the wood, not on the surface. They are a wiping varnish, not really an oil.

They are intended for use as a finish that protects the wood from within, leaving the sirface with a matte finish intended to provide the appearance and feel of unfinished wood.

 

[telemnemonics]

Note that products sold as tung oil and Danish oil are actually not traditional oil treatments; they are more akin to boiled linseed oil: they dry hard. The difference is they dry hard in the wood, not on the surface. They are a wiping varnish, not really an oil.

They are intended for use as a finish that protects the wood from within, leaving the sirface with a matte finish intended to provide the appearance and feel of unfinished wood.

Plus some poly blended in some, so they do build a surface with enough applucations but yeah I like feeling the grain and less flat plastic. I do a blade scrape the last few coats to flatten, this body is the Minwax TO and has maybe five coats but will get one more after drilling for controls