Lacquer finish on neck is not fast

[sleazy pot pie]

I ahve a neck i finished using mohawk lacquer. I sanded it through 1500 then used a rubbing compound on a wheel attached to my drill.

The finish is at least 90 days old.
It is not sticky or tacky to the touch, just not as easy to play as i would like.

While the finish looks nice, my fingers tend to drag. Especially when sliding up or doen a full step of more. It is the back and fingerboard as well.

What is a good way to get it to play smoother? Should i just use synthetic steel wool on it next time i change the strings?

 

[elpico]

Everybody's hands are different, but for me gloss necks always feel a little sticky like you're describing. Not like honey sticky, more like squeaky clean dishes. My hands tend to get a little sweaty when I'm playing for a long time, that's probably a big factor. I do better with a satin finish neck. I have one I finished with mohawk lacquer in satin finish. No sanding, just the raw finish out of the can. Works good for me. Breaking up the gloss a little sounds like a reasonable plan to me.

 

[Blue Bill]

Yaaaaaa! Don't sand it! Get some lemon oil or Fast Fret from a music store, a couple drops rubbed into the neck: problem solved. All that work getting a nice gloss finish, don't ruin it with sanding.

 

[deadicated]

Don't write off lacquer just yet, a lot of things factor into it like the type of finish as elpico said along with brand and the thickness of the lacquer. That one didn't turn out quite the way you wanted but there's no reason the next one can't if you approach it slightly different.

 

[Ronkirn]

wax the neck, wash and dry your hands.... a little talcum powder wouldn't hurt... the coefficient of friction between a neck and hands has more to do with the moisture content of the hands than it does the chemistry of the paint..

Ron Kirn

 

[bo]

Ron, I have this problem on a 52RI. What do you recommend as wax? Thanks!

 

[fender4life]

Canned coatings aren't ideal.Problem is, with a can you have a lot more thinner and you have propellants and whatever else because unlike a spray gun you don't have same the pressure and it gets lower as the can drains. So they have to thin the hell out of it to get it to pass the nozzle making for a finish that never fully cures unless maybe you use uber thin coats and allow more than typical drying times. I gave up on refinishing myself because i could never get near the same hardness out of a can as on a factory instrument. But you may be able to get it slick with waxes. One of the most durable and very slick ones is that SC johnson paste wax in the yellow tin thats been available at hardware stores for probably 100 years. I understand gibson used to recommend it years ago b4 they had thier own line of polishes. I used mothers synthetic car "wax" recently on both my nitro and poly necks and it made them so slick it's like a cushion of air between your hand and the neck. People will likely tell you car waxes may hurt the finish, but i've used many for decades and never an issue. Hell, they used to use nitro on cars years ago and still use laquer of some sort on customs i believe. Poly you could drop in a vat of acid and it wouldn't hurt it. (joking but makes the point)

 

[sleazy pot pie]

So i can put lemon oil on an all maple neck? I thought it was just for rosewood boards.
I am going to give it a little rub down with some white synthetic S.W. or maybe some old denim. I definitely don't want to sand it, i really like how it turned out. Just want to get rid of some of the drag for lack of a better term.
Will report back.

 

[Blue Bill]

I've used this stuff on maple and rosewood, works fine. You don't need much. I don't think that Dunlop has some special formula; just something to break the surface tension. Mineral oil, furniture polish, beeswax, butcher's wax, or even coconut oil would probably work.

 

[Ronkirn]

What do you recommend as wax?

leme elaborate so guys won't think I'm just being a nudge....

First, sticky necks have only been a problem since the proliferation of the internet.. so we could bring it to the forefront... before that no one ever mentioned it.. so outta sight.. outta mind sorts... but now everyone is saying "they also have a sticky neck".. so everyone is jumpin' on... as I pointed out it's not the necks, it's the moisture content of your skin, AND your body chemistry...

Thus there have ALWAYS been sticky necks..

back in the 60's .. what we did was washed our hands, and rubbed 'em on our jeans... then we played... if we rubbed 'em on MaryLou's jeans, we got slapped...

However, some of us noticed that when Mom waxed the floors, we spent a lotta time gettin' up off our ass.... the stuff made the floors slipperier 'n Texas road kill in a rain storm... so someone, somewhere said.. I think I'll try that shi* on my neck... and voila .... no more sticky necks...

Now for those that just mumbled to 'em selves... "ya shouldn't hafta wax squat. the neck shouldn't be sticky..." consider the good 'ol local Pool Hall...

Those pool cues, both the el cheepos hangin' on the wall ready for ya to use, or the expensive custom made sticks ya show up with in a hand tooled leather case ... all are finished with the same lacquers and polys our guitar's necks are hosed down with... same stuff.... < re-read that....

So whuddayoodoo when ya arrive at the pool hall, after ya get the beer.. and after ya stand there, slack Jawed, staring at the redhead in the mini stretched out across the table playing pool completely distracting the hell outta everyone.... (there should be a law) wait . . no there shouldn't... ya dust up.... i think . . . gawd.. is she for real...? Kinda distracted...

so anyway,. ya find a pool cue vaguely resembling straight.. then ya go DUST UP << got that . . ya don't start textin' every one on the planet that will listen that your cue is sticky, cause it ain't, it's not the cue . . . it's your hands ... that's why ya dusted up.... you KNOW it's not the stick, that it's your hands so you do something about YOUR hands.... < not rocket science..... (I'd show ya rocket science too, but it would take 25 pages single spaced in 8 point type, and no one would understand it any way..) Plus a few dilettantes would wanna argue the stuff anyway...

Oh.. and keep your darn guitar clean.. if it's as nasty as a Truck Stop Outhouse... what 'n heck do ya expect.... Pizza goo is sticky, Grape Jelly is Sticky, That McDonald's special sauce (not really special) is.. yep.. you got it, it's sticky too....clean that shi* off your guitar...it might even sound better...

so anyway.,, for fast 'n easy . . . Meguiars A 1216 http://www.meguiars.com/en/automotive/products/a1216-cleaner-wax-liquid/#wAuf3eUdVCm8iLsd.97 will last ya about a week per treatment.. or MinWax Finishing Paste wax... far more durable as far as wax goes, will last ya about a month or so between treatments... http://www.minwax.com/wood-products/specialty-finishes/minwax-paste-finishing-wax

If you give your neck the Scotchbrite treatment.. the satin-like abrasions will "hold" the wax for a longer period than just smearing it on a polished surface...

Thank ya for yer attention... smoke 'em if ya got 'em... and I understand the RedHead just showed up at the Pool Hall again... gotta run....

Ron Kirn < staring 70 in the face and still crazy... How sweet is that..

 

[McCart]

Canned coatings aren't ideal.Problem is, with a can you have a lot more thinner and you have propellants and whatever else because unlike a spray gun you don't have same the pressure and it gets lower as the can drains. So they have to thin the hell out of it to get it to pass the nozzle making for a finish that never fully cures unless maybe you use uber thin coats and allow more than typical drying times. I gave up on refinishing myself because i could never get near the same hardness out of a can as on a factory instrument. But you may be able to get it slick with waxes. One of the most durable and very slick ones is that SC johnson paste wax in the yellow tin thats been available at hardware stores for probably 100 years. I understand gibson used to recommend it years ago b4 they had thier own line of polishes. I used mothers synthetic car "wax" recently on both my nitro and poly necks and it made them so slick it's like a cushion of air between your hand and the neck. People will likely tell you car waxes may hurt the finish, but i've used many for decades and never an issue. Hell, they used to use nitro on cars years ago and still use laquer of some sort on customs i believe. Poly you could drop in a vat of acid and it wouldn't hurt it. (joking but makes the point)

I don't think the problem with car wax damaging the finish is the problem. It's just that car wax has silicon in it and makes refinishing really hard without stripping all the old finish off.

 

[elpico]

leme elaborate so guys won't think I'm just being a nudge....

First, sticky necks have only been a problem since the proliferation of the internet.. so we could bring it to the forefront... before that no one ever mentioned it.. so outta sight.. outta mind sorts... but now everyone is saying "they also have a sticky neck".. so everyone is jumpin' on... as I pointed out it's not the necks, it's the moisture content of your skin, AND your body chemistry...

Thus there have ALWAYS been sticky necks..

back in the 60's .. what we did was washed our hands, and rubbed 'em on our jeans... then we played... if we rubbed 'em on MaryLou's jeans, we got slapped...

However, some of us noticed that when Mom waxed the floors, we spent a lotta time gettin' up off our ass.... the stuff made the floors slipperier 'n Texas road kill in a rain storm... so someone, somewhere said.. I think I'll try that shi* on my neck... and voila .... no more sticky necks...

Now for those that just mumbled to 'em selves... "ya shouldn't hafta wax squat. the neck shouldn't be sticky..." consider the good 'ol local Pool Hall...

Those pool cues, both the el cheepos hangin' on the wall ready for ya to use, or the expensive custom made sticks ya show up with in a hand tooled leather case ... all are finished with the same lacquers and polys our guitar's necks are hosed down with... same stuff.... < re-read that....

So whuddayoodoo when ya arrive at the pool hall, after ya get the beer.. and after ya stand there, slack Jawed, staring at the redhead in the mini stretched out across the table playing pool completely distracting the hell outta everyone.... (there should be a law) wait . . no there shouldn't... ya dust up.... i think . . . gawd.. is she for real...? Kinda distracted...

so anyway,. ya find a pool cue vaguely resembling straight.. then ya go DUST UP << got that . . ya don't start textin' every one on the planet that will listen that your cue is sticky, cause it ain't, it's not the cue . . . it's your hands ... that's why ya dusted up.... you KNOW it's not the stick, that it's your hands so you do something about YOUR hands.... < not rocket science..... (I'd show ya rocket science too, but it would take 25 pages single spaced in 8 point type, and no one would understand it any way..) Plus a few dilettantes would wanna argue the stuff anyway...

Oh.. and keep your darn guitar clean.. if it's as nasty as a Truck Stop Outhouse... what 'n heck do ya expect.... Pizza goo is sticky, Grape Jelly is Sticky, That McDonald's special sauce (not really special) is.. yep.. you got it, it's sticky too....clean that shi* off your guitar...it might even sound better...

so anyway.,, for fast 'n easy . . . Meguiars A 1216 http://www.meguiars.com/en/automotive/products/a1216-cleaner-wax-liquid/#wAuf3eUdVCm8iLsd.97 will last ya about a week per treatment.. or MinWax Finishing Paste wax... far more durable as far as wax goes, will last ya about a month or so between treatments... http://www.minwax.com/wood-products/specialty-finishes/minwax-paste-finishing-wax

If you give your neck the Scotchbrite treatment.. the satin-like abrasions will "hold" the wax for a longer period than just smearing it on a polished surface...

Thank ya for yer attention... smoke 'em if ya got 'em... and I understand the RedHead just showed up at the Pool Hall again... gotta run....

Ron Kirn < staring 70 in the face and still crazy... How sweet is that..

I like this post. Very colorful, but I gotta say, there's no amount of "dusting up" that would keep my hands dry through an entire set. Yes this is 100% to do with MY hands but, you know, they're kind of attached to me for life? The solution to the problem for me is definitely not "dry your friggin hands". They're always going to be damp, that's not optional, so for me there is value in choosing a satin finish neck over a gloss.

I fully accept that gloss may work just fine for someone else's hands. I'm also pretty sure people like me have always existed though, even in the 60s. They may not have had access to different neck finishes to know it at the time, but there were finishes that would have worked better than gloss for them too.

 

[GuildX700]

You want a fast, non sticky neck?

Once the nitro is fully hard, say 6 months, get some car wax that has Teflon in it, rub it on and don't let it dry, buff it right back off.

Man oh man, it will be so slick your fingers will slide off.

I've done this to several problematic "sticky" necks over the years, it works amazing. You'll never be able to get a finish to stick on it after that though, so you better not ever have plans for a refinish.

The specific wax I use is Dupont Teflon car wax in a black plastic bottle.

It will also remove years of finish "sludge" and bring the color back something amazing on a guitar body, but beware as the guitar will slip off you pant leg VERY easily when sitting down playing once you wax it with this stuff!

My brother recently gave me a Telecaster of his to fix, it had been sitting out with no case for probably 10 years in his apartment above a restaurant. The finish had a coating of cooking oil and smoke so thick on it the guitar barely looked like the original maroon color it was.

A machine buffing using this wax stripped all those years of sludge off, removed most all the fine scratches and gave it this amazing wet look.

It was such a drastic change when I brought the guitar back he did not believe it was even his.

I also brought him some nice white cotton king size pillow cases to cover his guitars with that sit out without cases.

Yes, there are 5 more I have to fix and clean up yet. The ones with gold hardware are in really sad shape. That's one thing nice about chrome, no matter how dirty it gets it really cleans up nice.

 

[Ronkirn]

I like this post. Very colorful,

Colorful?? COLORFUL.. shoot son, that ain't colorful.. that's just dialogue prompted by situational awareness.

This here's thuh South... where ifin ya don't talk like that yood git your butt whupped good 'n fast... as long as the Game hadn't started...... usually by yor Granny.. It's jus beein polite.. ya don't wanna raise any eyebrows.. kinda like if ya showed up at a covered dish Church get-together... with a Tofu and Kale non-dairy Lasagne .. Man, the wemin wood chase your butt off so fast. . there IS social etiquette ya know..

rk

 

[kingoflimbs]

the 'sticky neck' does exist, and a satin finish is a viable solution.

 

[Blue Bill]

Sticky neck? I ain't got no sticky neck!

 

[bo]

Thanks Ron!

 

[DrASATele]

BILL!

 

[Preacher]

leme elaborate so guys won't think I'm just being a nudge....

First, sticky necks have only been a problem since the proliferation of the internet.. so we could bring it to the forefront... before that no one ever mentioned it.. so outta sight.. outta mind sorts... but now everyone is saying "they also have a sticky neck".. so everyone is jumpin' on... as I pointed out it's not the necks, it's the moisture content of your skin, AND your body chemistry...

Thus there have ALWAYS been sticky necks..

back in the 60's .. what we did was washed our hands, and rubbed 'em on our jeans... then we played... if we rubbed 'em on MaryLou's jeans, we got slapped...

However, some of us noticed that when Mom waxed the floors, we spent a lotta time gettin' up off our ass.... the stuff made the floors slipperier 'n Texas road kill in a rain storm... so someone, somewhere said.. I think I'll try that shi* on my neck... and voila .... no more sticky necks...

Now for those that just mumbled to 'em selves... "ya shouldn't hafta wax squat. the neck shouldn't be sticky..." consider the good 'ol local Pool Hall...

Those pool cues, both the el cheepos hangin' on the wall ready for ya to use, or the expensive custom made sticks ya show up with in a hand tooled leather case ... all are finished with the same lacquers and polys our guitar's necks are hosed down with... same stuff.... < re-read that....

So whuddayoodoo when ya arrive at the pool hall, after ya get the beer.. and after ya stand there, slack Jawed, staring at the redhead in the mini stretched out across the table playing pool completely distracting the hell outta everyone.... (there should be a law) wait . . no there shouldn't... ya dust up.... i think . . . gawd.. is she for real...? Kinda distracted...

so anyway,. ya find a pool cue vaguely resembling straight.. then ya go DUST UP << got that . . ya don't start textin' every one on the planet that will listen that your cue is sticky, cause it ain't, it's not the cue . . . it's your hands ... that's why ya dusted up.... you KNOW it's not the stick, that it's your hands so you do something about YOUR hands.... < not rocket science..... (I'd show ya rocket science too, but it would take 25 pages single spaced in 8 point type, and no one would understand it any way..) Plus a few dilettantes would wanna argue the stuff anyway...

Oh.. and keep your darn guitar clean.. if it's as nasty as a Truck Stop Outhouse... what 'n heck do ya expect.... Pizza goo is sticky, Grape Jelly is Sticky, That McDonald's special sauce (not really special) is.. yep.. you got it, it's sticky too....clean that shi* off your guitar...it might even sound better...

so anyway.,, for fast 'n easy . . . Meguiars A 1216 http://www.meguiars.com/en/automotive/products/a1216-cleaner-wax-liquid/#wAuf3eUdVCm8iLsd.97 will last ya about a week per treatment.. or MinWax Finishing Paste wax... far more durable as far as wax goes, will last ya about a month or so between treatments... http://www.minwax.com/wood-products/specialty-finishes/minwax-paste-finishing-wax

If you give your neck the Scotchbrite treatment.. the satin-like abrasions will "hold" the wax for a longer period than just smearing it on a polished surface...

Thank ya for yer attention... smoke 'em if ya got 'em... and I understand the RedHead just showed up at the Pool Hall again... gotta run....

Ron Kirn < staring 70 in the face and still crazy... How sweet is that..

Ron, my hats off to you Sir! Post of the week!!

 

[Ronkirn]

it's the old thing.. "out of mind... out of sight".... you can bet there's some other "issue" looming in the future. One that no one gives a rat's bum about today, but someone will mention as being a MAJOR problem... then someone will "latch" on, then another, then another and before long everyone will be chatting up some "new" never before mentioned problem like it was always there ever since George Beauchamp banged out the first Fryin' Pan. .. and now we're just getting around to how it gets resolved....

well here's a short cut on how to resolve whatever the unforeseen problem will be... Fuggidabout it, gawwdamm just plain forget about it.... go practice... get your mind focused on something constructive, something that will ACTUALLY make a significant NOTICEABLE difference in your encounters with a plugged in, Yep... plugged in, guitar... practice does wonders.. it's just about the universal cure for whatever ails ya and/or your gear..

Ron Kirn