Burnishing Raw Necks

[Mark Anderson]

I recently finished burnishing my new Superwide Warmoth neck with Indian Rosewood shaft and Black Ebony fingerboard. (I have big hands and have always found it difficult on standard sized necks to do partial barre chords.) I followed Cagey's prescription and sanded in 200 grit increments from 600-1200, then 1500 and finally 2000. I recommend that you use a tack cloth to clean the dust off the neck as you go, and I also dabbed the sandpaper on the tack cloth to pull the dust off. You can find tack cloths at any store that sells paints/stains. Mainly it makes the sandpaper last longer by preventing it from loading up so much with dust, which in turn makes the job go faster.

I am impressed with the results: if you hold it at the proper angle to the light it looks shiny like glass, and it feels slick without being grabby. I tried to include a photo, but with the dark rosewood I was not able to get a good shot.

I have a Carvin SH275 with a tung oiled mahogany neck, which was my favorite neck feel-wise (not shape-wise), but the burnished Warmoth neck is far superior (AND I got the shape I wanted). It is well worth the effort.

I did not burnish the headstock, but I'm having second thoughts and may go back and do that.

 

[swarfrat]

Once you get down into the grits we're talking about  you can change direction and should when you change grit from some things I've read.

I was joking about the butter, but I did end up wet sanding with coconut oil. You can really feel when you're getting there as it will start to "float" instead of cutting (you won't feel the drag from the sandpaper)

 

[Cagey]

Thanks. You sand the wood in both directions, following the grain?

Yes. Changing direction to cross the grain will just add time to the next step. Also, you'll find as you go along that each progressively higher grit tends to take longer to make a difference. This is because what you're doing is removing the scratches from the previous grit, and the finer the cut, the slower the cut. But, boring as it is, persevere. It pays.

 

[Mark Anderson]

I agree with Cagey: each grit takes longer. I was psyched at how fast it was going early-on, and I have leftover paper of the early grits. But the higher I went, the longer each grit took, and the more paper I used.

I forgot to mention that after I got my Carvin, I sanded the necks on my other guitars: a '75 Hagstrom Swede and an '05 Epiphone Dot Deluxe. Both have mahogany shafts, and I intended to go down to the bare wood and tung oil them. It took a lot of hand sanding to get thru the outer gloss coats - more so on the Dot - but it greatly improved the feel compared to what I started with. I used ScotchBrite pads for those - not the ScotchBrite pads you use for dishes - 3M makes pads in various grits for woodworking and ski tuning (Rockler carries them).

 

[Mark Anderson]

Finally got a decent photo...I went back and burnished the headstock front, back and sides.

 

[stefanhotrod]

What about burnishing a roasted maple fretboard, anyone?

 

[Cagey]

I do it all the time, and not just with roasted Maple. Warmoth has a "no frets, slots only" choice in the builder. Allows the 'board to be burnished along with the rest of the neck. If you don't do frets, PM me. I know a guy who knows a guy who's retired and works real reasonable :icon_biggrin:

 

[stefanhotrod]

I do it all the time, and not just with roasted Maple. Warmoth has a "no frets, slots only" choice in the builder. Allows the 'board to be burnished along with the rest of the neck. If you don't do frets, PM me. I know a guy who knows a guy who's retired and works real reasonable :icon_biggrin:

Thanks!
Nope, my neck is already fretted and I guess I‘ll have to leave the fretboard unfinished- no dealbreaker as long as I don‘t get a difference in color while burnishing the rest of the neck. And thanks for your offer, but I‘m located in germany  ccasion14:

 

[Cagey]

There's no color change. You get an improvement in the chatoyance of the figured woods, but other than that it's more of a feel thing than a visual thing.

Unfortunately, there's no good way to do the fretboard once the frets are in.

 

[davegardner0]

I do it all the time, and not just with roasted Maple. Warmoth has a "no frets, slots only" choice in the builder. Allows the 'board to be burnished along with the rest of the neck. If you don't do frets, PM me. I know a guy who knows a guy who's retired and works real reasonable :icon_biggrin:

It's interesting to see that you do this on fretboards too... I burnished the rosewood fretboard on the strat neck I refretted recently, and I thought it gave the board a wonderful feel. It still has that soft rosewood feel but it's super slick at the same time. Very very cool. Plus it looks great too.

Actually I don't understand why this isn't a more common thing... Before the frets are on, you're sanding the fretboard flat anyway. It doesn't take long to go up a few more grits, plus the fretboard area isn't that big. But I've seen expensive guitars where the fretboard has a "machined" look to it, with lines, texture, and everything. I like this way better!

 

[Cagey]

I'm not sure many people know it can be done. I had a woodworking shop for a long time, doing a lotta cabinet work and subscribing to all the trade rags, etc., and until Tonar mentioned it I had no idea wood would sand that fine. Of course, even with fine cabinet work, you wouldn't normally use woods that would respond that way, or try to sand them that fine even if you did. Usually, you take things to 300 grit, tops, and apply some kind of finish. In fact, in researching it I found some warned against it, because it would make it difficult for a finish to stick.

 

[davegardner0]

That's very interesting and makes a lot of sense - I guess burnishing wood really is against conventional wisdom since you're usually applying a finish. But wow it sure is nice on these super hard guitar woods! On the other hand I guess a soft wood wouldn't really improve with further sanding - kind of like trying to rub out a finish that isn't fully cured yet.

For what it's worth, I found that on my burnished rosewood board I was able to use a turned edge razor blade scraper to get off a little wayward glue. The scraper left a surface that was almost identical in smoothness and look to the burnished wood. I'm glad it did, I was worried about creating a rough(er) spot and it would be awful to sand the board after the frets are installed.

If you burnish a rosewood fretboard, do you use any kind of fretboard oil like this or leave the wood bare?
https://www.stewmac.com/Materials_and_Supplies/Finishing_Supplies/Finishes_and_Solvents/ColorTone_Fretboard_Finishing_Oil.html

 

[Cagey]

On the very rare occasion I oil a fretboard, I just use maybe one or two drops of regular ol' mineral oil on a rag and do the whole 'board with that. Usually only need it if I have to take a solvent after the thing to clean up excess grunge. The oil is just mineral oil from someplace like Walmart, CVS, Walgreens, etc. Costs maybe $2 for a 150 year supply. "Lemon" oil is just mineral oil with lemon scent added (which I don't care for), and I suspect most of the "premium" products sold specifically for guitars are just mineral oil with perhaps some coloring and/or another scent other than lemon added.

Your fingers will add more oil to the fretboard than the wood can possibly absorb, which is why you have to clean them from time to time. Why people feel like they have to add more oil is a mystery for the ages, but probably just stems from insecurity about the longevity of a neck they love. If the wood is gonna warp/split/chip/etc., it's usually because it's gotten excessively dry. That's not an oil thing (oil doesn't evaporate), that's a moisture thing. If you live in a particularly dry area, some sort of climate control or a case humidifier is the thing to use, not oil.

 

[GT1-Reach]

Hi guys,

I pretty much read the whole thread in one going and really can't wait to try this method on my clapton roasted maple neck that I got incoming! Already ordered a set of papers.

The feeling of a necks back is so important and I think this is the best method!

I don't want to get too off topic, but do you guys roll your Fretboard edges on warmoth necks? If yes, how you do it?


Greetings from Germany, Dennis

 

[stratamania]

I roll the fretboard edges.  A topic for another thread really.

To do so, I have used smaller files or a blade. I take about a 45-degree angle first then another angle at the top and bottom of that angle and then smooth with sandpaper.

 

[GT1-Reach]

yeah, i think its a pretty significant Topic as well. maybe not as the backside of a neck, but as Long warmoth does no rolling, its important. I really have no experience with rolling edges and really dont want to mess my first warmoth neck with steel frets up.

I think this Topic is a new thread worth for sure.

 

[pirate]

Well I've been lurking for a few weeks, just signed up. This thread is a god send! I have my first build parts, a roasted maple neck, and a tele swamp ash body, clear/satin finish on the way, hopefully arriving in mid February. I was all over the place on what I wanted to do to protect the neck and love the idea of just sanding, or burnishing the neck. I almost wish now I have not ordered it with SS frets, so I could do the fretboard as well. Guess I'll have to build a second now

 

[Cagey]

Welcome to the forum!

This is a fantastic process, and roasted Maple responds especially well to it. I do it to everything I can now.

Good luck on your build! Looking forward to pics!

 

[pirate]

I keep seeing "more time needed as you go finer" but any time estimates? Are we talking 10-15 minutes with 400? 2 hours with 2000?

 

[Cagey]

It's tough to say. The early coarser grits cut faster, so you spend less time... maybe 10 mins? The later higher grits you might spend 15-20 mins due to the lower cutting speed. Typically, the whole thing takes about an hour and a half, maybe two hours if you start running out of steam.

I've actually taken to using a small D/A palm sander like this...

...which knocks the whole thing down to about 35-45 minutes and I still get the same finish, so you might go that route if you have the tool. They're not expensive if you don't, and they're good for other things.