choosing a finish for custom maple neck

[hord1080]

Hey all - new member here!  I am building a Tele from "scratch" and want to order a Warmoth neck.  I played my buddy's PRS with a flame maple neck/board and the feel was amazing - are those finished in satin poly or just raw?  I would like to get close to that feel and was leaning towards a flame maple/flame maple modern tele neck, but I understand from reading the site they require a finish for warranty and so the neck doesn't warp.  So i thought - i will just get the satin finish, but it says they spray the whole thing including the frets and that you need to sand this off yourself?  I am not sure i want to do that - thoughts?  I was also considering either all roasted maple (seems that you can get away with no finish on these, or burnish them?  Are they still more susceptible to warping?) or just satin flame maple with a Pau Ferro or IRW board.  The body blank i have is Sapele so it has a natural medium mahogany color, so not sure roasted maple will look good as it might be the same color.  Any thoughts would be helpful!  thank you!

 

[ragamuffin]

PRS maple necks normally have a finish. If it felt like it didn’t have a one then it was probably satin. Warmoth will finish over the fretboard if it is a maple fretboard, but not other woods like pau ferro or rosewood.

Roasted maple is more stable so it doesn’t require a finish, and feels even better than a satin finish

 

[Rick]

On maple necks have no worries about finish on the frets.  I guarantee it wears off.  Just so you know, after you've played it enough satin rubs into a gloss.  As to what wood just go with whatever eye candy you like.

 

[musicispeace]

I've been very happy with Warmoth's satin finish on regular maple. Very smooth. If going roasted maple I agree with those who advocate going finish free.

 

[Rick]

And if you want to do it yourself, an easy durable finish can be acheived with tru-oil.  Very easy to apply.