Relic'ing a Roasted Maple Neck?

[Texicaster]

¡Bueno!™

Not relic'ing per se but I don't like the finish on my Strat's roasted maple neck. I recently got a heavy relic Broadcaster and love the feel of that neck! The rounded edges and bare wood back.....

But how does roasted maple react to sanding, stripping and scraping? Is that roasted brown throughout the piece or does it get worked through? Do they roast the blank or the finished/rough shaped neck?

I have a feeling it could come out poor cosmetically..... I don't think I've ever seen an aged or stripped roasted maple neck!

Thanks!

 

[nickmsmith]

¡Bueno!™

Not relic'ing per se but I don't like the finish on my Strat's roasted maple neck. I recently got a heavy relic Broadcaster and love the feel of that neck! The rounded edges and bare wood back.....

But how does roasted maple react to sanding, stripping and scraping? Is that roasted brown throughout the piece or does it get worked through? Do they roast the blank or the finished/rough shaped neck?

I have a feeling it could come out poor cosmetically..... I don't think I've ever seen an aged or stripped roasted maple neck!

Thanks!

That’s a good question. I’ve got a feeling the roasting doesn’t go all the way through the wood, but not sure.

If it were me, I would VERY lightly sand until it feels a little smoother, I definitely would not do any significant sanding, the kind that removes finish.

 

[Texicaster]

That’s a good question. I’ve got a feeling the roasting doesn’t go all the way through the wood, but not sure.

If it were me, I would VERY lightly sand until it feels a little smoother, I definitely would not do any significant sanding, the kind that removes finish.

See...I wanna remove the finish!

MJT offers the service but frankly the examples they show are not good so I'd not send it to them.

I want the feel of aged not so much the look, although I dig that look!

I just don't want it to look bad....

Thanks!

 

[FuncleManson]

It's my understanding that the roasting goes throughout the wood. As far as the finish, some folks swear by "burnishing" roasted maple. I haven't done it and I'm unfamiliar with the process, but I expect someone will chime in with their thoughts.

 

[alex1fly]

No problem to lightly sand or steel wool off the back of the neck finish. I've done this two necks. Just knock the finish down until it's not tacky anymore. No need to strip or scrape. Less is more. If you remove the finish to bare wood, it'll still need some kind of finish or oil in it to keep moisture and gunk out.

 

[NC E30]

I thought the point of a roasted maple neck was that no finish was needed.

 

[charliejones78]

I have one roasted maple neck done, and one in the process. The first one was finished with a few coats of tru-oil and some gun stock wax. A year later and it still feels awesome. The one I'm working on now has a painted headstock, so I'm spraying the head and tail ends with satin nitro and leaving the middle bare. I'll probably fade the nitro in with some steel wool and then tru-oil/wax the middle section.

You could totally go without a finish. Adding tru-oil did make the maple pop a little more. And yes, the roasted color goes all the way through. The wood is roasted as dimension lumber, then it's cut and shaped once it's stable. I'm assuming if you took a maple body or neck and roasted that it would warp or twist.

As for relic'ing the neck I did round over the fretboard edges. Just used a fresh utility knife blade as a scraper (45 degree angle) and then sanded it with 400 grit. Really effective from a comfort standpoint.

 

[old wrench]

The roasting or more properly "torrifying", goes all the way through the entire neck blank.

The blanks are torrified first thing, before any shaping is done to the neck blank.

I've done quite a few necks from torrified blanks and I always prefer some sort of finish on them - TruOil or lacquer is what I usually use for a finish, although on my last one, for my 2021 BrotherHood Build, I used Osmo oil for the finish.

I'm guessing that your fret board is roasted maple too

The difficult part about refinishing or stripping a fret board is working around the frets

It would be much easier to pull the frets and then replace them with new fret wire but that might be more work than you are up for.

I suppose a lot will depend on what sort of finish Fender applied to neck - if it's one of the durable poly finishes it might take quite a bit of effort to remove .

.

 

[EsquireBoy]

I had a CS strat in heavy relic: the neck felt good but I did not care for the look.
My main guitar nowadays is a CS esquire in « Journeyman relic », and all the neck has had at the factory was a bit of scotch brite. Honestly it feels as good as the heavy relic, but this time it looks just right.

My advice: don’t risk a mess with your neck. You probably won’t be happy with the result because relic’ing is a very difficult process that requires a lot of experience (especially for the neck IMO).
Use a scotch brite pad onto the back and it will feel as good as any heavier relic’ing under your hand.

 

[hemingway]

No problem to lightly sand or steel wool off the back of the neck finish. I've done this two necks. Just knock the finish down until it's not tacky anymore. No need to strip or scrape. Less is more. If you remove the finish to bare wood, it'll still need some kind of finish or oil in it to keep moisture and gunk out.

I have taken the finish off a couple of necks and replaced it with a "natural" finish - i.e., the oils from my hands, face, remaining hair, whatever.

It looks fine - aged and a little grubby, but not icky. And it feels sealed, like an oil finish.

 

[Rjelecaster]

It's roasted through and through

 

[Bongoslade]

just got a Tele with a roasted maple neck and i think, no finish. i'll be sanding the back with scotch brite - that stuff is very useful - just a scosh ...
it's a Warmoth neck and body - freaking awesome feel and tone
i gotta post some pix - ( lazy) - i mean "i'm practicing" and too busy with my music lessons - ha

 

[Jackadder]

Roasted maple neck scratch building: I just sand through to 2500 grit and then buff with a timber polish, but only if there is some nice figuring in need of enhancement. Otherwise, riding bareback. The fretboard gets a light coat of lacquer.