Fixing mistakes another person made on Warmoth neck

[bbruc]

I bought a guitar with a Vortex neck on it. I was able to get the finished guitar with a Vortex neck, Diamondback body, and Duncans for $450, and this neck would cost $510 as spec'ed. It's bound in white. The scarf joint looks terrible. Had I bought this directly from Warmoth, I would try to return it.




The transition between the neck and the binding isn't smooth. I can feel the line all the way up and down the neck. I don't know if this is considered acceptable for an unfinished neck or not. Since a maple neck requires a finish, I could imagine that Warmoth expects some sanding to be done anyway and so this would be resolved at that stage.

The neck came to the seller unfinished and he used Tru Oil on it. The finish is a little tacky for my preference. I don't know how the seller managed to mess up Tru Oil, but he figured it out. He also did something to stain a couple spots on the binding, which I think I can take off when I sand the neck.

I have never tried to fix the finish on an oiled neck, but I'd like to sand it down to refinish the back of the neck and to get rid of that rough transition to the binding. I'd mask it at the bottom of the back of the headstock to the nut. Should I start sanding with 600 grit? How far do I need to go down in order to ensure it's not tacky when I refinish it? Also, I'd rather use Tung Oil. Does that have a bearing on how far I need to sand down? My thought was whenever I get as far down as I need to be that I would sand to 800, apply some tung oil and let it cure for awhile, then sand lightly with 800 again; then apply another coat, allow to cure, and sand with 1000; and then apply a few coats and finish with #0000 steel wool.

I'd also like to try to lessen the visibility of the scarf joint. Any tips on how best to do that?

 

[Fat Pete]

I can't see why the joint would look that way unless it's deliberate - I wonder if there's a veneer layer inbetween(?) Actually looks pretty cool to me.

The step at the binding edge could just be where the oil hasn't adhered to the binding, which I wouldn't expect it to. As you say, some careful sanding should take care of it.

 

[stratamania]

I was just going to write pretty much what @Fat Pete already wrote. It does look like a veneer to me, in which case it looks quite cool to me.

A mix of sanding, you should not need anything coarser than 400 should do it. You may need a sharp blade if the binding has a noticeable step to help scrape it flush with the neck shaft.

Using Tung oil should not have much of a bearing on how much you need to sand. When it is prepped, you should have a feeling that it is.

 

[Orpheo]

Oh, but I also believe that's a veneer. You can see that in the carve of the neck, the scarf gets more 'open', and the dark line gets wider. I'm almost sure that's a veneer.

If the neck is too wide: sand the neck to the bare wood, scrape the ledge flush and then smooth it out, tung oil, done.
If the binding is too wide: use a very sharp razor blade to shave the binding flush. These things happen. I've had a warmoth neck with a similar issue. Binding contracts at a different rate than wood, this is not weird.

 

[BroccoliRob]

wow the finish that guy did on that neck is Terrible. more spotchy than my friend Todd who suffers from psoriasis and more orange peel than that show Key and Peele lmao. i never heard of the Big W doing veneers on scarf joins but I suppose its #possible. to me it looks more like the stain the original owner used just soaked down into the join because he went on too heavy (darkening it) and then sanded it back making those blotches and then went too wet or thick or didn't wait long enough between coats with the tru oil. I bet he even swelled the wood or something causing that rough binding edge you be feeling. #BigYikes

 

[bbruc]

wow the finish that guy did on that neck is Terrible. more spotchy than my friend Todd who suffers from psoriasis and more orange peel than that show Key and Peele lmao. i never heard of the Big W doing veneers on scarf joins but I suppose its #possible. to me it looks more like the stain the original owner used just soaked down into the join because he went on too heavy (darkening it) and then sanded it back making those blotches and then went too wet or thick or didn't wait long enough between coats with the tru oil. I bet he even swelled the wood or something causing that rough binding edge you be feeling. #BigYikes

I think you're probably right on all accounts. I paid $450 for this thing, and the body specs out at over $530, the neck at over $500, it has SD Pearly Gates, a Mojo Tone wiring harness, etc. All in, this dude sunk $1,500 into this project. I got it for a steal. I just took a cloth with some orange cleaner to the neck and used a little elbow grease and it took a lot of the built-up Tru Oil off the neck. It feels better--even the edge around the binding isn't noticeable when playing. It even looks better. Maybe good enough that I'll just deal with it for now until I need to remove the neck for a fret dressing and I'll sand and refinish it at that time.