SAnding the back of guitar neck, getting the gloss off, anyone try?

I did this on my 2007 Eric Johnson strat. Just sanded it with different grades of sandpaper, till it was smooth, then used linseed oil, to protect it. I have been very happy with the result. I need to do my other guitars. I don't care about resale, because I'm not selling them ever. I sweat a lot, and this helps considerably.
 
if you just buff lightly with the 0000 steel wool, if you do not like it you can buff it with polish compound to make it shine again. I like mine down to bare wood rub it with light oil, let it soak in clean it off and smooth with 0000 steel wool, but if you have a painted neck this will make it look very bad, and will be very hard to restore if you do not like it! I would try it first on an inexspensive guitar first so if you do not like it, it will be no big deal! if you sand to bare wood though the neck will be a little more apt to change with the weather! the finish helps to keep the moisture content of the wood at a constant!
 
I've done this to almost all of my guitars. Easy job, just take the neck off or protect the body if you have a set neck guitar and go.
 
Personally, I wouldn't go all the way through the finish. The neck will be just as smooth (if not smoother) by just removing the gloss from the clear finish and will retain the protective finish on the neck. As shown in the video, a scotch-brite pad can be used as an alternative to steel wool.
 
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Yep. Steel wool does it fine. Just rub it lightly for an even matte result. It will wear to be glossy again, but you can do this quite a number of times before you go through the finish. At least I could, and I don't think the finish on my guitars is that thick.
If you do go through a dab of superglue can refinish it.

i abuse mine, though. Recently I put a couple of layers of medium visco superglue on the sides of the neck to broaden it. The frets were too near the edge of the fingerboard and I don't want the strings to pull off, so all I could do was widen the fretboard. And there has to be a fluent transition to the back of the neck, so...
It was harder than I had hoped because of air bubbles in the layers and the glue not drying very evenly. And the vapors are foul. So glad I don't do this often.
But I got it to a workable state. :D
 
I have performed many of both, (matted and completely stripped necks, which at times requested for re-shaping of the neck) for guys. Never one complaint about the stripped and oiled necks doing anything funky. Some have been many years now. Obviously it has to be done right. Ernie Ball is one company that comes to mind that have oil finished necks. I believe they use gun stock oil where as I prefer tung oil.

Set necks and neck through's are the worst for a clean, factory pro look due to the all the edges, shaping and contours not as easily accessible as the removable bolt on. Sometimes you have to be creative as to where and what the transition lines look like. I use very flexible utility blades to layout and shape out all transition lines. Pain in the arse but it makes all the difference to a customer for a pro finish. Here's a pick of a set neck that I had done with tung oil.

One type of finish for a neck at I was very curious about because I love maple necks w/ maple boards was to have an oil finished neck for the back, (for the speed and lack of drag) but to also have the traditional lacquered maple fretboard 'cause I love that feel for my finger tips. IMO very cool. Love it!

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I just did my select strat's neck today. Scraped the nitro off and then went with 3 steps of synthetic pads, then 0000 steel wool. Finished it with tung oil. It made the flame contrast up quite a bit and added a well played look to it.
 
I have sanded down bolt-on necks to re-shape them and refinished them with tru-oil. This makes them very slick and fast.

I have also used steel wool or scotchbrite pads to "satin" a painted neck and that does help make them more slick, and is a nice compromise if you dont want to sand the finish totally off.
 
I've sanded the back of the necks of all my main guitars

sandpaper...400 then 800/ then like 1200-1500 then i get some crazy like 5000 grit stuff and its awesome

i don't use oil or anything after to protect it or anything

The only thing i like using steel wool on is dirty frets/fretboards- i don't like the results on the back of the necks
 
Just for clarification, I have a question for you guys who are putting tung oil on your necks: Are you using true tung oil, or something like Formby's Tung Oil Finish?

Actual 100% tung oil can provide a durable film finish, but it's typically very slow to cure. A very low percentage of woodworkers use the pure stuff. Products like the Formby's "Tung Oil Finish" or Minwax Antique Oil are actually an oil/varnish blend that may or may not have any actual tung oil in it, but they cure much more quickly and are easier to get a good-looking finished product with. The end result looks like a tung oil finish, but it's not really an oil finish in the true sense of the word. These products do have oil (which will soak into the wood and can "pop" the grain and make the wood look good), but the varnish forms a protective film finish on the surface of the wood in just a few coats.

Products like boiled linseed oil or Tru-Oil (which is also just linseed oil with their own combination of dryers) are a true "oil finish", but they are hardening oils, which means if you put enough coats on a piece of wood, the oil will also form a film finish on the wood surface.

Then there are non-hardening oils like mineral oil. It's great for cutting boards, but I don't think I'd use it on any of my guitars.
 
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