Dying maple neck - Best way to sand between the frets?

[rauchman]

Greetings,

Now that I have the body going for my Tele, I'm going to add some light black dye to the maple neck.  Is there a recommended procedure for sanding between the frets?  I'll be taping the frets, but is something done with some sandpaper by hand, or is a Dremel more optimal or other?

Thanks!

 

[AirCap]

Why do you think you have to sand at all?

 

[Rick]

I think he's trying  to do some grain popping.  I've only sanded a fretboard to repair cracks.  Made the wood swell up with mineral oil, let it dry, then put in some superglue.  The crack disappeared, then I CAREFULLY sanded away the escaped glue.  Repair was perfect.  I wouldn't want to use dremel, as those things move really fast.

 

[Toulouse_Tuhles]

Un-figured maple maple does dye well.  Even figured necks aren't so great. 

 

[rauchman]

Un-figured maple maple does dye well.  Even figured necks aren't so great.

Yup, understand.  This is roasted maple with some distinct grain lines.  I've seen some examples of people doing this and I like the effect.  I'm going to give it a shot.  Any tips on sanding?  I understand Warmoth necks come with sealer on them.  Unless I'm mistaken, I'll need to remove the sealer.

 

[Toulouse_Tuhles]

You might want to consider testing on the heel of the neck where it will never show.  I don't think I would be sanding enough to remove sealer between the frets.


Acetone or lacquer thinner should remove any sealer that's there.  That can be applied with a rag.  If it works well on the heel just be kind of careful around the face dots.


I'll tell you that sanding enough to level the finish between the frets is a matter of going cross-grain and or wrapping the sandpaper around a skinny edge to use as a sanding block close to the fret material when you sand with the grain

 

[rauchman]

You might want to consider testing on the heel of the neck where it will never show.  I don't think I would be sanding enough to remove sealer between the frets.


Acetone or lacquer thinner should remove any sealer that's there.  That can be applied with a rag.  If it works well on the heel just be kind of careful around the face dots.


I'll tell you that sanding enough to level the finish between the frets is a matter of going cross-grain and or wrapping the sandpaper around a skinny edge to use as a sanding block close to the fret material when you sand with the grain

You Sir....well, you f'ing ROCK!!!!  Thank you!

 

[AirCap]

I'd suggest not sanding and using Scotchbrite…..

 

[Rick]

Scotchbrite, that's a good idea.  You can order those on amazon.  Which one do you think would work?

 

[AirCap]

There are plenty of colors and grits, but the ones I use most are maroon (rough), and light gray (almost fine).

 

[ByteFrenzy]

I've done quite a bit of staining maple necks, but to make them darker overall, not bring out figuring. I chose necks with a different fretboard wood, mostly wenge or ebony so working between frets was not relevant. I haven't really had the impression that the sealant keeps the stain from taking, so maybe the whole solvent / scotchbrite discussion might be academic.

 

[JPOL007]

First I taped the frets. Then wearing nitrile gloves wiped down the neck with naphtha to remove any oil. Next I cut pieces on sand paper slightly smaller than the space between the frets. Paper was cut a little longer than the width of the fretboard. I started with 240 grit went to 320 then to 400 grit paper. Wear the gloves during the whole process to avoid transferring any skin oil or sweat from your hands. I learned bare wood dyes more evenly with less blotching. Wiping the dust off between grit changes helps with buildup on the sanding paper.
I used TransTint dye and evened out the coats with a cloth dampened with denatured alcohol. If the dye coat gets too heavy you may see fish eye spotting. The alcohol will blend this out. Do thin light coats and build up to the color coverage you want to achieve. Sample of the results in the work in progress section. Hope this helps.

 

[rauchman]

Just to give an update (and have to apologize up front for no pictures...)

Sanding between the frets with 600 and 800 grit wet/dry, run wet
Also did the rest of the entire neck with 600, 800, 1000, 1200, 1500 and 2000 grit wet/dry, run wet
Hit the entire neck with a dye combo of Black/Brown/Red
2 wiped on coats True Oil
Sanded between frets with 1000 grit
- 1 wiped on coat of True Oil
Sanded rest of the neck with 2000 again

The dye didn't pop the grain as I would have liked, however the roasted maple is now a darker richer color and some of the grain kinda popped.  Doesn't look blotchy

Also, the back of the neck has a gloss to it and is baby bottom smooth.  REALLY like how the neck came out.

Will take a pic or 2 and report back

As a side note, I put on Hipshot staggered locking tuners.  Didn't realize how much weight they add, but they are really nice tuning machines.

 

[Rick]

For the hipshots, you can swap the tuning buttons for plastic or the SK1 knurled knobs.  The normal HH1 buttons weigh 40grams.  The plastic will weigh 10 grams.  That's a savings of 6 ounces.

http://skyway.s3.amazonaws.com/SportHiTech_Hipshot_Tuner_button_FAQ.pdf

https://docs.hipshotproducts.com/6B1.PDF

 

[rauchman]

Some pics (albeit, bad pics)

Back of neck

Front of neck