"Patching" a poly neck w/ Tru-Oil?

[rubalcohol]

I recently bought a well-played, all-maple 70's Ibanez.  On the fretboard the finish is worn through in spots, exposing the raw wood.  The original finish is (I believe) a yellow-tinted poly.  Would I be able to cover up the bare spots with Tru-Oil?

I'm not too worried about the color or texture contrast, just concerned about the Tru-Oil doing something weird to the existing finish when it soaks into the wood.  I'm not interested in refinishing the whole neck right now.

The other option would be to use Minwax, but I still have a nearly full bottle of Tru-Oil from a previous Warmoth project.  Plus I really like the stuff...

 

[line6man]

Why do you want to do that?  :icon_scratch:

 

[rubalcohol]

I just want to cover the bare wood.  It's been a humid summer.  I also don't want any more dirt and finger oil to creep into the maple than what's already there.

Refinishing the neck would be ideal, but in the meantime I'm just looking to patch the neck.  I have a bottle of Tru-Oil and wanted to see if it is useable......

 

[Cagey]

I'm just pointing some things out here, so don't take any of this as direction.

A guitar from the '70s might still have lacquer on it. A lot has changed in processes and chemistries in the the last 40+ years. Only way to know for sure would be to put a drop of acetone (lacquer thinner or nail polish remover) someplace obscure (inside the neck heel or control cavity, for instance) to see if it dissolves the finish. If not, it's poly.

True Oil isn't a particularly robust finish. If it stuck to the existing finish at all, which is unlikely, it would probably wear off the fretboard during your first practice session. To ensure it would stick, you'd need a "barrier" coat of shellac, also not a particularly hard finish. Then you might get two practice sessions out of the deal.

So, the thing to do would be to remove what's left of the existing finish and put something new down - something that will stand up to use (not oil). Removing lacquer is easy - acetone will do it. Poly is a bit tougher - you really need Methylene-chloride. Chances are better than even that between removing the finish and reconditioning the fretboard, you're going to damage the frets. Plus, it'll just be a lotta work with the frets still on the 'board.

So, if I were unable to tolerate the look/feel/playability of a highly-worn neck, I would want to pull the frets, recondition the fretboard, refinish it, then re-fret it (use stainless). It'd be easier in the long run, and you'd end up with something that would be better than new. Anything less is probably just an exercise in futility.

If the neck hasn't warped/twisted due to the exposed wood over the last 40 years or so, you're probably safe for a little longer.