Finishing a canary neck?

[electric__steve]

It's a canary neck with a canary fretboard. It seems like an odd thing to have an unfinished neck, with the wood free to absorb grunge from one's hands - And that's with me being a little OCD about clean hands.

I was thinking about either shellac or an oil varnish such as tru oil. But if I'm doing the back of the neck I feel like I should do the whole thing, fretboard included. Plus the finish will help the color of the wood pop.

Any thoughts?

 

[ragamuffin]

Don't do it! Burnish/polish the neck instead; take fine paper/polishing papers and go from 600ish up to 2000 or so. It gives the wood a nice shine, feels FANTASTIC and it won't absorb dirt and grunge nearly as much.

I've done this with all my raw necks and only with the oldest (that I've had for about ten years and was my main player for a while) have I felt the need to clean them. If you keep your hands reasonably clean it should be a problem.

 

[TBurst Std]

I’ve had a canary/carnary neck for a decade plus. All that was done was a burnishing. No crud on it. Just remember to wash your hands after rebuilding a diesel engine before you pick up the guitar. LOL

 

[bagman67]

Ditto on leaving the neck naked. My very favorite neck is my Warmoth canarywood telecaster neck. I have not gone to the trouble of burnishing it to a high shine, and it doesn't get scuzzy quickly at all. I do hit it with a gray Scotchbrite once in a long while when I do a more complete servicing and de-funkify the (ebony) fretboard; but otherwise, it's just a lovely sensation to feel that wood when I play.

 

[teleme01]

To burnish or not to burnish, if I choose to not burnish, would I not burnish as I play? Burnish by hand so to say

 

[mayfly]

I've got an unfinished canary neck on one of my favourite guitars. It's been over 10 years and no grunge buildup. If you wash your hands regularly I really don't think it will be an issue.

 

[vetteman]

I went a different route with my canary neck and used pure Tung oil on it. 2 coats was all it took if I remember correctly and it is hands down my favorite guitar neck.

 

[TBurst Std]

Well that’s 3 people whose canary neck is their fav. 2 unfinished, 1 with tung oil.
And no, your hands will not burnish it in your lifetime, unless you have serious skin issues. In that case you should see a Dr rather than buy a guitar neck.

 

[ruscio]

+1 for no finish on canary. The guitar in my avatar has a canary neck that's unfinished, burnished instead, and simply wonderful. I've had this 7 or 8 years with no grunge built up at all. I always wash my hands before playing and only play at home, so that goes a long way to keeping things clean.

 

[electric__steve]

I posted this, but apparently didn’t have notifications on and promptly forgot to check for comments. Nice. I appreciate the comments though. I’m still thinking about a thin oil finish just to get everything to pop, but maybe that’s mostly for the fretboard and the back gets burnished.

 

[Hagwood]

I vote no finish and burnishing as well. I've always done that with Roasted Maple and just love the feel, and if they get dirty they're easy enough to clean and hit again with 2000+ grit or even super high micro mesh. I have a plain maple (not roasted) that I did put a few coats of Watco Danish oil on, and then polished with high grits, so that may be an option if you want a little protection but still close to the raw wood feel. I've used Danish Oil for furniture that doesn't need a lot of protection for years and really like it.