How do you get a neck finish like this?

This is the stuff that is generally accepted as the product to use to get a vintage neck amber.

http://reranchstore.stores.yahoo.net/fennecam.html

From everything I have seen and heard, it is the best.  It makes the neck figuring pop out and grab your attention.
Patrick

 
+1 on the ReRanch Fender neck amber... It has no lacquer in it; pure toner; needs to be shot in very thin coats; the more coats you apply the darker the amber tint becomes; you then seal/apply gloss lacquer top coats and can duplicate that finish. You can't tell from the pictures whether the neck was finished that way or if amber tint was simply added to the lacquer to get to that tint; that would work as well.

If Tonar responds he can give you a formula for tinting the lacquer itself, but you;ll need a compressor/gun to do it that way.
 
ReRanch also has "aged" lacquer in the can.  Its like you shot clear and let it sit a few years.  Not as orange/amber as the neck amber - which looks like 40 year old clear lacquer.  You can also mix the two, going neck amber lightly then some clear or tinted over it.

Shellac by itself is a less than great neck finish but it dies work for tinting if you get some amber bullseye shellac... just clearcoat over it.
 
I've worked with shellac in the past on other projects - just not guitar necks. It's something I'd like to get around to. Good thoughts, guys...
 
Would I be able to apply these finishes with the frets in place, or would I need to remove the frets and reset them after the finish?

Thanks for the awesome suggestions so far!
 
You do like Leo Fender did, and every coat, you take a nail... like a 6p nail, and there's a little half moon filed in its head, and that fits over the fret top, and you scrap the soft finish from the fret.

Yes, that's how Fender does it.  And it works, but you can use a Craft stick or something other than a nail...  I think Leo found a box of nails and got 'em free so he used them.  He was basically a genius at being cheap.
 
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