Some advice on guitar neck finish please..?

UnsungHeroGuitars

UnsungHeroGuitars

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Hello all

I recently picked up a used EBMM JP6 - lovely!

The birdseye neck is beautiful, but when I first played it, I noticed that within what is an incredibly smooth finish on 99% the back, I could feel some slight imperfections around the centre of neck and between about the 3rd to 9th fret area (probably the part which has seen most 'traffic' if you will)

If I had to describe the 'feel', one would think that the guitar had perhaps been continually leant against something sharp which had made some indentations. However, on closer look, there are no indentations whatsoever
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What I can actually feel on my thumb is some very slight opening of the grain - I do mean slight though! It's hardly visible even in good light, but I can feel it all the same. Maybe this has been caused by usage drawing moisture out of the grain perhaps..?
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Anyhow, with the neck being 'unfinished' - the headstock lacquer deliberately stops at the nut line - I was wondering how to minimise this
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Would light sanding with fine grade paper address it..? I obviously don't want to get too carried away, but will I effectively have to 'remove' half a millimetre or so to smooth out the grain..?

Assuming that would be in order, what would I then 'finish' it with..? I know it's an unfinished neck, but it does appear to have been treated with something... oiled perhaps.? I've got some Fret Doctor which contains "a blend of non-toxic oils that nourish and protect the wood" - that is of course for cleaning and protecting the fretboard itself, but would that be suitable for the back or am I going to need something else..?

I'm always happy to get stuck in, but would like to get some good advice before doing so
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Here's a photo trying to highlight the issue. Of course, you can clearly 'see' the grain across all of the neck - it's beautifully smooth everywhere, except for in the central area where you can feel it too:


JP6NeckGrainLabelled.jpg
 
I believe the EB stuff is finished with a gun stock oil/wax type of finish. As far as you wanting to remedy what bothers you with the back of the headstock, tape off neatly the area you wish to address and leave exposed only the area you wish to address. I'd use something in the way of a 400-600 grit sandpaper or "XXX"-"XXXX" steel wool and sand over that exposed area. Or if you wanted, disassemble the machine heads next time you change the strings and do the whole backside of the headstock. The result will be a satin finish.

As far as the little imperfections on the neck itself, lightly sand that area (using same type of gritted sandpaper/steel wool) and see if that may level it off to eliminate or at least reduce it to be tolerable. It's hard to see anything in the pix. If the finish itself is broken you may want to try to use an eye dropper and keep those spots wet with water for a time in order for the wood to swell and expand to pretty much self correct the indentations. In some instances I've taken something very smooth, such as a chromed mechanic's socket and roll it over that indented areas to rid of it that way. But you have to sort of fan out the rolling to eliminate it being noticeable to the touch. Then go over it with the sandpaper or steel wool to gain the consistent texture to the touch again. If they're actual little crack in the grain, (Birdseye maple has been notorious for this to happen around the "Birdseye" at times). Fill it in with gunstock oil, let dry, level, then polish. Repeat the procedure as much as needed to remedy the cracks.

Hope this helps,
 
Sanding alone of course won't deal with it. Depends how smooth you need it and whether you want it to stay unfinished.

If you want it unfinished, I'd say sand paper to the finest grit, and then LOTS of elbow grease 'polishing' it with untreated steel wool (i.e. not brillo or something with soap, just straight steel wool). If you take the time, and you go all the way to the steel wool you can get a glass-smooth finish! But it's a LOT of polishing. Then I'd hit it up with... dunno, maybe tung or linseed oil? You don't want it to get gunky, so you have to apply it VERY sparingly, and work it in with a cloth of a buffer.

The other option is just to sand it and seal it with a cellulose or polyurethane-based sealant.

My $0.02 for the day.
 
Thanks for that swass and poly, great stuff :)

I wouldn't say that it 'bothers me' as such, it's just that the rest of the neck is so good, it would be great to get this area back to the same level of smoothness too

The last thing I want to do is screw anything up of course!

You refer to gun stock oil / wax - I'd naturally be keen to retreat it if sanding has taken place, but again, don't want it to feel 'oily' or in any way sticky, so would need to know I was doing the right thing there
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You probably feel the hairs of the grain. A common way to remove these hairs is to dampen the wood prior to sanding. Essentially your take a damp, not wet, sponge and rub the offending area prior to sanding it with 600~800 grit sandpaper.

The reason you are feeling more than you can photograph it is simply the moisture in your thumb makes the hairs stand up.
 
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I wonder how often you have to sand those necks. Wouldn't sanding, even once every couple years, eventually change the shape of the neck profile?
 
True enough Sidivan - that's why I was seeking some views and advice before just running the floor sander over it!
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After receiving some thoughts here, it appears we're only talking a minor amount - particularly when considering adding some moisture back into the grain - so I doubt it would be *that* noticeable


Besides which, some of the scorching chops I've seen on here probably take more out of an axe!
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some superglue and sawdust, or just superglue will fill the indentation then you just sand it smooth again. have done this before.
 
Sidivan said:
I wonder how often you have to sand those necks. Wouldn't sanding, even once every couple years, eventually change the shape of the neck profile?
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1) If you use steel wool, almost no material is taken off - micro amounts only.
2) If properly finished (or oiled), it should not need this again for years, perhaps decades.
 
Caring for your Music Man neck & Fretboard - YouTube

Here is a vid on Ernie ball neck care. Those necks are finished with. A product called Tru-oil. It's for gun stocks. You put it on with your finger. If you keep building up coats it will build a hard hi gloss finish. When I finished a Birdseye maple neck I did about 20 coats and then scuff sanded with fine steel wool to bring down the gloss. Looks and feels unfinished.
 
Well if you are dealing with indentations on bare or oiled wood then you can always go the route of the wet rag + soldering iron trick. Works wonders for me, just make sure there is enough towel in between so you don't burn anything. A couple minutes off and on and the wood should expand mostly back to normal. I've done this on a few necks and it worked great.
 
That's an interesting comment Mehnike... although having never tried that trick before, I'm not sure the birdseye maple neck of a £2.5k guitar is the best place for me to start practicing!

I'm not normally shy in getting stuck in - and I'd love to see the results of this - but I can see too much potential for disaster with no experience!
 
What you are probably feeling is the difference between the the birds eye (harder) and plain maple. Its like sanding a piece of pine with dried glue on it,hand sanding will leave a divot around the glue (birds eye in this case). 0000 steel wool may take care of it if its just open grain. By the looks of the finish ,looks like tung oil. 0000 steel wool will give it a satin finish.I alway use steel wool on my maple necks . But if you have never done any finishing ,maybe its not for you to fix :D
 
Thanks for that EdgE :)

I have done plenty of finishing on different surfaces & materials, so that's not the concern. The concern is understanding what I'm working with and using the right kit
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Here is the Music Man neck maintenance info. They don't recommend sanding the neck, but I am sure that's because most folks won't do it right. How do I clean and maintain my Music Man neck?

I used the gun stock oils and waxes. along with the neck conditioners they referred to here and they worked great on the Albert Lee model I had. I am sure treating them in this manner after a careful sanding will put you back at a factory finish. All of those supplies can be had from Amazon.com if you don't have a local supplier.
 
+1 on the superfine steel wool. I think steel wool, then tung oil, then steel wool again would do it. I have a jp with Birdseye maple also. Of course if you can get your hands on the custom gunstock oil wax blend eb uses it would be much better match.
 
I have everything either in hand now or on order
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With the advice given here and the video above, I am confident I can make improvements :) (remember, it isn't *bad* by any stretch anyway!)
 
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