Anyone ever "satinize" their guitar's neck?

deakle

deakle

Experienced
I have a Gibson Les Paul Axcess Custom that the neck can get quite "sticky". I keep it very, very clean so there is no residue build up on it. Wash my hands before playing also. But the high gloss finish just seems to have a very high degree of friction. Has anyone ever used a grey Scotch Brite pad or 600 grit paper to knock the gloss off of the neck? Does that help? It is to the point where I am considering parting ways with it although I really don't want to. But it can be quite annoying when playing.
 
It's usually not a residue build up, most polished surfaces will feel sticky to some degree. Think clean window vs dirty. Playing eventually polishes the back of the neck, how quickly it happens depends on how much play and how much hand or thumb pressure is applied when sliding on the neck.

I use synthetic steel wool pads, #000 or #0000 steel wool equivalent depending upon the guitar. Works great at giving a slicker, satin finish feel. Be careful though, the standard green scotch brite are fairly coarse.
 
I presume you're talking about the back of the neck?

deakle said:
I have a Gibson Les Paul Axcess Custom that the neck can get quite "sticky".
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Is it a lacquer or poly finish? If it's lacquer, the oils in the skin cause lacquer to become tacky/sticky over time. If you apply new lacquer, it will reactivate the original lacquer and the old and new lacquer will combine and it will be smooth again.


deakle said:
But the high gloss finish just seems to have a very high degree of friction.
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If the finish is poly, use #0000 steel wool to take the shine off and it will be nice and smooth.
 
I really prefer the gloss necks on my Fender guitars. It's SATIN that I find gets tacky.
 
Neil Schon uses a salami sandwich to rub on his necks and fretboards I read somewhere... I personally prefer bare wood, but even on high humidity gigs, it gets sticky so I break out the baby powder. I also wash my hands before performing.
 
What I have been using is Music Nomad "Guitar Polish" not be be confused with "One" or "Guitar Detailer".
https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/MN101--musicnomad-guitar-polish-pro-strength-formula


I have had one of my Les Paul's since 1981 and around the late 80's started getting the sticky spots you are referring to.
Tried allot of different products some worked ok, others not so good. The guitar became so bad I was willing to refinish the neck, my guitar tech at the time talked me out of that and gave me a bottle with the green stuff in it. A polish of some sort, was re applying it every half year or so. But it worked pretty good (problem solved) Time rolls on, about 15 years worth and my current guitar tech was very hot on the Music Nomad products. So tried the "Guitar Polish" He warned me I would probably see some red and yellow in the rag (cherry sunburst guitar)
and I did. And allot of other crap. The neck never felt so good. Since then I have only used it maybe every two years or so to clean up the neck, and the body too. After that I use "Guitar Detailer" for your everyday cleaning (for Nitro finishes) and "Guitar One" for other finishes.
 
While I wouldn't put sand paper or steel wool to a finished neck like that-

That's really the #1 reason I hate using finished necks...

What I would do, is just use it/play it, until the finish wears naturally into the haze you want
 
It depends on just how badly that neck-feel is winding you up. In the situation you describe, I eventually tend to sand down my necks and refinish them - which is a-little drastic, but, then ..if the guitar is a keeper 4 life, setting it up to your preference can sometimes require drastic measures.

I have also been known to use grade 0000 steel wool to remove the shine on a super-gloss finish too.. but ..I’ll usually go drastic (eventually) if drastic is called for.

Now, ...:) ...I know nothing of this magic regarding “Salami Sam’iches” to treat strings and fretboards! But I do use WD40 on a cloth handkerchief, not a lot, just a whif, the mere suggestion of the stuff on a cloth handkerchief, to wipe down my strings after playing.

Been using that trick since I was a kid.

My strings last longer, it makes them nice and slick to play on, quieter in transitions, all good stuff. You don’t use enough to wet the fretboard, just use it to wipe down and clean the strings. Works great, ..or has for me for the last 30-some years anyhoos. ...kinda like Fast-fret ..but is much-less messy than that.
 
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Sonofiam said:
It's usually not a residue build up, most polished surfaces will feel sticky to some degree. Think clean window vs dirty. Playing eventually polishes the back of the neck, how quickly it happens depends on how much play and how much hand or thumb pressure is applied when sliding on the neck.

I use synthetic steel wool pads, #000 or #0000 steel wool equivalent depending upon the guitar. Works great at giving a slicker, satin finish feel. Be careful though, the standard green scotch brite are fairly coarse.
Click to expand...

I had to do this to my 2007 Les Paul. The neck is near impossible to play when it’s humid. Make sure you tape the pickups so the steel wool doesn’t stick to it and I recommend to use the #0000 and start out lightly sanding until you get it less tacky.
Finger Ease works too
 
I've used Scotch-Brite Type A (the maroon/brownish color) on hundreds of necks. Grade VFN (very fine). It leaves no visible swirling, and it's not too aggressive. And there's no steel wool dust to contend with.

Use circular strokes and a light touch. Do it just long enough to remove the gloss. Anything more is wasteful of the finish.
 
Note: If the neck has a lacquer finish contaminated by years of sweat and grime, your results might have minimal effect. The only fix for deteriorated lacquer is to remelt (or strip) and reapply. And that involves nasty chemicals and long cure times.
 
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