Roasted Flame Maple Neck; "Popping" Grain, Burnishing

[s1player]

Hello Everyone - purchased a Roasted Flame Maple neck. My preference for playability is a MusicMan-like neck: Clear coated Headstock with a very smooth neck. However, with a flame on the entire neck: I'd like to see flame figure on the headstock and on the back of the neck. This would require finishing the back of the neck and not just leaving it raw/burnished. This my conundrum. I'll break my question in to the 2 different finish areas: Headstock (grain popped); Clear coated.

Headstock Finishing. Goal: Clear coat over a very "Popped" Figure with no tinting. No dyeing and sanding back to pop grain.

1. What can be used to highlight grain in Roasted Maple? That can also eventually be clear coated with lacquer? Options seem to be Tru Oil, Linseed Oil, Tung Oil. But, there isn't much out there on popping roasted maple and keeping the natural color.
2. With the clear coating, I am assuming that the headstock should not be burnished, as that might make finishing tough?

Back of neck finishing (fretboard is RW so doesn't need a finish).

1. If I Burnish the back of the neck, will I be able to use something - Tru Oil, Linseed, etc - to Pop the grain?
2. If I do use something to pop the grain, is there any way to preserve the burnished/musicman-like feel?
3. Or, are the goals of popping the figure and having a burnished smooth neck incompatible?

BTW - if anyone can share links to information on "popping" roasted maple grain, I'd appreciate it. Plenty out there on popping grain, just not much on roasted maple.

Really appreciate any thoughts folks

 

[stratamania]

Musicman necks are not burnished, and if you are going to finish burnishing would be counter productive.

Musicman necks are finished with a poly or similar on the headstock and a tru oil and wax blend on the back of the neck.

The grain will probably pop with lacquer or tru oil. To see how it might look just wipe it with a damp cloth to get a feel for how it will look finished.

If you look in the build threads in my signature for the strat and Tele they are both done similar to Musicman necks.

 

[s1player]

Musicman necks are not burnished, and if you are going to finish burnishing would be counter productive.

Musicman necks are finished with a poly or similar on the headstock and a tru oil and wax blend on the back of the neck.

The grain will probably pop with lacquer or tru oil. To see how it might look just wipe it with a damp cloth to get a feel for how it will look finished.

If you look in the build threads in my signature for the strat and Tele they are both done similar to Musicman necks.

Hi Stratamania - I realize I really had a separate question which amounts to "Should I burnish or MM Tru-oil/wax?". But, I think with respect to either option, it's the same trade off with respect to possibly popping grain on the neck. Without putting a coat of something on there - I don't think I am going to really be able to pop the grain and maintain and unfinished neck - whether burnished or MM.

Maybe I'll start a separate thread in the general forum for the burnish vs MM question. Or, do more thorough research on what the burnish finish is like.

 

[stratamania]

Hopefully some of those with burnished roasted maple can post some photos. A Google image search for Morse roasted maple should bring up a few photos.

 

[s1player]

Hopefully some of those with burnished roasted maple can post some photos. A Google image search for Morse roasted maple should bring up a few photos.

Funny you should mention that. I played a morse dark lord with roasted maple neck. I am spoiled by custom/semi-custom specs - but man that was one great guitar AND looked phenomenal. Especially that roasted maple headstock! But, the flame that looked so incredible on the headstock was very muted on the back of the neck - since it was unfinished.

First off the rack guitar that has tempted me in a long time.

So, this neck I am trying to see if I can get the full neck flame - without giving up a great feeling neck.

 

[stratamania]

Cool, I see where you are coming from. I have a Morse and it's one of my favourite necks. Shape and feel wise.  I've not played a Dark Lord but might have a chance if one of stores I visit still has stock left next time I'm there. As I understand it the Dark Lord has a thicker neck profile and was made for Bonamassa originally.

 

[Cagey]

Not all figured Maple is created equal. I would reiterate Stratamania's suggestion that you wet the neck down with some alcohol or naphtha if you want to see what clear finishing it is going to do about "popping" the grain. It may not (probably won't) be dramatic enough to waste a great piece of lumber by putting any finish on it. Some figuring is just too subdued to jump out at you without heroic measures, such as dyeing and sanding back.

Besides, roasting it brings out the grain all by itself, so there's just not that much more to gain. Check out this piece...

If I wipe that down with naphtha, it gets slightly darker, but doesn't really add any contrast to the grain as it's a uniform effect.

I intend to simply burnish it. Won't need anything more than that.

 

[s1player]

Cool, I see where you are coming from. I have a Morse and it's one of my favourite necks. Shape and feel wise.  I've not played a Dark Lord but might have a chance if one of stores I visit still has stock left next time I'm there. As I understand it the Dark Lord has a thicker neck profile and was made for Bonamassa originally.

Someday, MusicMan will take their sophisticated manufacturing and allow us to choose thicker neck profiles. I'd order another MM if they offered a Deep U neck profile with 1.75" nut.

 

[s1player]

Not all figured Maple is created equal. I would reiterate Stratamania's suggestion that you wet the neck down with some alcohol or naphtha if you want to see what clear finishing it is going to do about "popping" the grain. It may not (probably won't) be dramatic enough to waste a great piece of lumber by putting any finish on it. Some figuring is just too subdued to jump out at you without heroic measures, such as dyeing and sanding back.

Besides, roasting it brings out the grain all by itself, so there's just not that much more to gain. Check out this piece...

If I wipe that down with naphtha, it gets slightly darker, but doesn't really add any contrast to the grain as it's a uniform effect.

I intend to simply burnish it. Won't need anything more than that.

Have you ever put tru oil and gunstock wax on a burnished neck? If so, opinions?

 

[Cagey]

No. Burnishing and coating finishes are contraindicated. Do one or the other, not both.

Assuming you could get a coating to adhere to a burnished surface (unlikely), it would not feel as good. So, why burnish in the first place? Just coat it and live with the consequences. I would suggest lacquer or polyurethane; nothing else is really durable enough for that duty.

It wouldn't be the end of the world - they've been putting finishes on stringed instrument necks since the dawn of stringed instruments.

But, if you can use a wood species that doesn't require a finish or has been torrified, burnishing it makes for a neck with a feel that is just sublime. It's a bit of work, but less than any kind of coating regime you might use, costs nothing but abrasives and elbow grease and will ultimately make you smile at the sky and all your friends envious.

 

[s1player]

I am on the first step of burnishing. I decided to go with a white scotch bright for this step, since the neck was pretty smooth from the factory.

I have no idea why, but the chatoyance is incredible - even after just the first step. All I have done is sand. No oil or finish.

Anyone know why simple sanding would cause grain to pop?

This neck feels so good after step 1 that I almost don't want to move to the 2000 grit paper.

 

[Cagey]

Anyone know why simple sanding would cause grain to pop?

I don't know, but I suspect it has to do with refraction. Before the surface is polished, the light bounces back in all directions, diffusing the surface detail. Kinda like a frosted mirror, or a satin finish. Once it's polished up, the reflections align so the image is clearer.

 

[s1player]

Anyone know why simple sanding would cause grain to pop?

I don't know, but I suspect it has to do with refraction. Before the surface is polished, the light bounces back in all directions, diffusing the surface detail. Kinda like a frosted mirror, or a satin finish. Once it's polished up, the reflections align so the image is clearer.

OK. Appreciate the speculation.

Also, thanks for all your help above. This roasted maple isn't going to need a coating to pop. I can't believe how good this looks through simple sanding and burnishing. The flame has popped like crazy with no finish at all.

 

[Cagey]

I'm sure it feels amazing as well. Between burnishing and SS frets, I've got some of the most playable necks I've ever put hands on. Better still, they stay that way, which you can't get from nickel-silver frets and any kind of coating.

 

[Glimmer]

Cagey, that is one heck of a beautiful neck (hey, that rhymes! :icon_jokercolor. What are going to do with it?

 

[Cagey]

It's not committed yet. I bought it because, well, look at it! And if you think the picture is attractive, you ought to see it in real life. It's almost magically chatoyant. I've never seen anything like it. Closest is probably Bagman's "Quty Pie" Tele. That's another hunk of wood that can't be appreciated through photography.

I was thinking It would look good on a candy apple red Strat body so I bought one of those, but it just doesn't float my boat. I have a carved top Soloist in pearl white that it looks great on, but I sorta committed a one-piece Ziricote neck to that build. I may change my mind, and reserve the Ziricote part for something else. I don't know. No hurry. I have things to play with.

 

[Glimmer]

Dang, sir! Decisions, decisions. :glasses10:

 

[Cagey]

Hehe! Yeah. Modern problems.

 

[BigSteve22]

All this great building knowledge, AND it increases my vocabulary! "Chatoyance", even spell-check doesn't know it. Had to look it up!