Burnishing Raw Necks

[Howard]

Seeing this I slightly regret covering my roasted maple neck in tru oil.. Comes off very easily with some acetone though, so might try this whenever it wears down.

 

[Day-mun]

Careful with those inlays, though, Howard! Acetone will melt them suckers up into smeary globs faster than you can say "Dammit!". If you wanna strip that neck and burnish it, I'd consult the masters here about what solvent will persuade the oil to leave without turning your side-dots into boogers!  :-\

 

[Tonar8352]

Can the polishing/burnishing treatment that Tonar does on his raw maple necks be done on Mahogany?

Yes I have done several mahogany necks like I do the maple necks and they turn out great.  They do not get as glassy as maple but they still polish up great and feel like butter to play. Remember you forfeit the Warmoth warranty but I have never experienced any failures thus far. 

 

[Cagey]

Careful with those inlays, though, Howard! Acetone will melt them suckers up into smeary globs faster than you can say "Dammit!". If you wanna strip that neck and burnish it, I'd consult the masters here about what solvent will persuade the oil to leave without turning your side-dots into boogers!  :-\

I can't recall ever having a problem with acetone and neck inlays, but that's something to consider as you don't always know what those things are made of.  If they happen to be polystyrene or ABS plastic, they will melt. Note: binding is almost always ABS plastic, so beware.

I've not had to remove Tru-Oil yet, so I went in search of and found that most guitar folks recommend sandpaper or real paint remover (not the "environmentally safe" crap that doesn't work).  The gun guys, who are big users of Tru-Oil and tend to refinish a lot, often recommend oven cleaner. Again, the real stuff, not the "environmentally safe" crap that doesn't work.  I looked up the MSDS sheets on both those things and didn't see anything that would attack plastic, so I guess that's what I'd use.

 

[TonyFlyingSquirrel]

Cagey, you've turned me into an anti-finish snob.  Shame on you.

Nonsense. It's just a different kind of finish that doesn't require the addition/application of any material. Think of it as an "organic, Earth-friendly" neck  :laughing7:

Goin Green!  :sign13:

 

[fdesalvo]

My next neck will have bark remaining along the back.

 

[TonyFlyingSquirrel]

My next neck will have bark remaining along the back.

& a twig with a few leaves extending from the headstock.

This will prompt a new headstock design, entitled, "Treebeard". :headbang1:

 

[fdesalvo]

Yesssss

My next neck will have bark remaining along the back.

& a twig with a few leaves extending from the headstock.

This will prompt a new headstock design, entitled, "Treebeard". :headbang1:

 

[dmraco]

cagey...when burnishing, do you clean with naphtha in-between each grit?  Where did you stop?  I have polishing pads all the way up to 12000 grit

 

[Cagey]

cagey...when burnishing, do you clean with naphtha in-between each grit?  Where did you stop?  I have polishing pads all the way up to 12000 grit

Yes, but only because I'm fastidious. It's not necessary like it is with finish work. Then, going past 2000 grit is probably a waste of time. But, be aware that you have to spend some serious time with each grit, increasingly so as you go up in grits. When you get to the 2000 grit, it won't seem like anything is happening at first. It takes a while to really bring the sheen on as that fine of a paper cuts very slowly.

 

[dmraco]

Thanks.  My plan is 400, 600, 800, 1000, 1200, 1500, 2000, 3000.  I figure the 400-800 I will spend less time on.  Maybe 10 minutes each.  Then go to about 20-25 minutes for the 1000-3000 papers, using naphtha between

 

[Cagey]

Sounds like a good progression. It's pretty much what I use these days. Maybe a little less time. Whole thing shouldn't take much more than an hour and a half. Enough to watch a cheesy movie with half an eye  :icon_biggrin:

 

[dmraco]

I worked for about two hours.  It turned out really well.  I will post some photos.  it is hard to capture this on photos.  but the back is like glass.

While a sanded, I rolled the paper around the fretboard to hit the fret ends.  Another added benefit is perfectly polished fret ends!!

My wife was laughing at the the whole time.  The motions I was using were amusing to say the least.... :laughing8:

This is my 1st raw neck and and I do not know if I will ever go back.

 

[Cagey]

Hehe! Yeah, it is a somewhat suggestive activity  :laughing7:

You're right about not wanting to go back to coated necks again. This treatment not only feels a LOT better, it stays that way. And if you do ding it or something, it's very easy to get back to where you were.

I'm to the point now that I order necks without frets so I can burnish the fretboard as well. Adds some work that you've already paid for (fretting is built into the neck price from Warmoth and they don't discount if you pass on them), but it's worth it.

 

[vikingred]

This sounds fantastic.  I've got a nice ziricote fretboard on bloodwood neck coming in monday, and a black ebony freboard on canary neck coming soon.  Both necks unfinished.  Definitely going to use this method, but have a question:

I plan to do wetslide decals on both headstocks, going to keep it simple and just use 2-3 coats of shellac as an isolator/sealer and then apply the decal, then slowly work the laquer/nitro spray coats while wet sanding to achieve the desired disappearing edges effect.

SO, I'm pretty sure I should just go ahead with the burnishing first on each neck including the headstock face and then apply the waterslide decals.  Just wondering anyone's thoughts or comments regarding the shellac layer (if it's even necessary after burnishing) or if I should NOT burnish the face of the headstock (burnish all other parts) but then shellac the headstock and then laquer/nitro/sand?

Thoughts?

Thanks!

 

[Cagey]

My understanding is that finishes don't adhere well to a burnished surface - it's too smooth. Nothing to bite into. Be like trying to paint glass or something. So, if it was me, I'd burnish the necks as planned, but leave the headstock face alone other than maybe hitting it with some 320 grit just to make sure there aren't any imperfections. Then a coat or 3 of shellac with sanding in between coats to fill what little grain those woods have. Then apply the decal, maybe one more coat of shellac to seal the decal's ink against the lacquer's vehicle, then start on the decal burial process with successive coats of lacquer/sanding.

 

[vikingred]

My understanding is that finishes don't adhere well to a burnished surface - it's too smooth. Nothing to bite into. Be like trying to paint glass or something. So, if it was me, I'd burnish the necks as planned, but leave the headstock face alone other than maybe hitting it with some 320 grit just to make sure there aren't any imperfections. Then a coat or 3 of shellac with sanding in between coats to fill what little grain those woods have. Then apply the decal, maybe one more coat of shellac to seal the decal's ink against the lacquer's vehicle, then start on the decal burial process with successive coats of lacquer/sanding.

This sounds right on the money to me.  Gonna do it.  Just ordered the 5 sheet pack of 3M 2000 grit, and the 3M polishing paper.  I can't wait till Monday. 

 

[Cagey]

I'm sure it'll work out great for you. Just remember that as you go along, you're basically removing the sanding scratches from the previous grit, and as you get into the progressively finer grits it takes progressively longer to have an effect. When you get up to the 2000 grit, it'll almost seem like you're not having any effect until you've been at it for a while. But, patience pays. That Bloodwood in particular will come out super-slick, as it's already pretty hard and dense to start with. You get that one done, and you'll have to be careful picking up the guitar because it'll want to slip out of your hands.

 

[vikingred]

Sounds awesome, Cagey.  Some other questions.  Drill holes for the tuning machines before or after the burnishing and headstock decal work?  Do you burnish the heel, all the way, too?  In burnishing corners and edges, it seems like you need to take extra care, yes?  Do it all by hand, no blocks, etc?

 

[Cagey]

Tuner holes - doesn't matter. I don't do the heel, or at least I don't pay any special attention to it. Corners and edges don't require extra care so much as extra time because they're sometimes tough to get any stroke into them. And yes, it's all done by hand except the fretboard, where I'll use a high-density rubber sponge block. Doesn't usually get done as most necks that show up here already have frets installed, but the last 5 or 6 necks I've bought I had them leave the frets off so I could burnish the fretboard, then I install the frets afterward.