Strat necks, gloss or satin. New to forum!

Jp38

Newbie
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Hi, I’ve played two American Strats ‘94 and ‘99 and was told they were satin necks (please verify) and after years of playing I’ve given them a light gloss from the use. Would I want to order a new satin neck, play it a lot and possibly have my luthier put a light gloss on…..or just go with a glossy neck? Thanks!
 
I hate glossy necks. Playing a satin neck will polish it up over time. The best feeling (and playing) necks for me have a gunstock oil (Tru-Oil) finish that is lighty scuffed with fine steel wool to a satin, and then a coat of gunstock wax rubbed on.
Feels like bare wood (but it's not), and super slick; not sticky.
 
Warmoth's 'satin' neck finish is really more of a semi-gloss, and being nitro it buffs glossier very quickly. I don't understand why they don't just use the satin coat they use on bodies. In any case, if you do want something that is a bit glossy, Warmoth's satin will do you fine. The Warmoth full gloss finish is unmistakably glossy, like the body finishes. Don't order that if you want something that's remotely satin or matte.
 
Okay.........

I've played every kind of neck finish from raw to oil, to ebmm, to satin, to full on gloss.

A few observations:

My warmoth 59 in gloss got the scotchbrite treatment. It feels slick now. Much like my satin fatback.

Ibanez poly satin goes to straight gloss.

Not all gloss is equal. My hand glides on some better than others. Yamaha does a nice one for instance

Warmoth's satin neck finish is my absolute favorite. Yeah, it does gloss up as you play it, but it is so smooth!! Nothing else comes close. It seems like it took a looooooong time to cure and not be sticky though. I'm talking 8 to 10 years. One day I picked it up, after not using it for well over a year, and it was slick. And I've been in love ever since.

While I like raw, ebmm, and oil finishes, I prefer an actual hard finish on my necks for longevity and maintenance reasons.
 
I don't understand why they don't just use the satin coat they use on bodies.
I'm pretty sure the satin they use on the bodies is a very different product, possibly a 2k urethane, and is therefore a lot more expensive than the satin-sheen lacquer they use on necks. Moreover, I would also guess that folks are generally (with exceptions like you) okay with the status quo.
 
I'm pretty sure the satin they use on the bodies is a very different product, possibly a 2k urethane, and is therefore a lot more expensive than the satin-sheen lacquer they use on necks.
At least here in the UK, matte or satin 2K is cheaper than satin nitro, and only buying in one type of satin top coat (either type) will always be cheaper than buying in two. The 2K stuff is, in my experience, easier to work with as well, since it cures quicker.
Warmoth certainly does do a lot of things a particular way just because it's how they've always done it (IIRC Aaron said the 1.650" nut wasn't offered for so long 'just because', ditto the lack of a Fender-style contoured heel), but I don't buy that the material cost is the reason in this case.
 
I'm pretty sure the satin they use on the bodies is a very different product, possibly a 2k urethane, and is therefore a lot more expensive than the satin-sheen lacquer they use on necks. Moreover, I would also guess that folks are generally (with exceptions like you) okay with the status quo.

Nailed it.

Reasons we don't used the satin from our bodies on our necks:
  • It's more expensive, and people like cheap
  • It's not nitro, and people like nitro
  • We were using the current satin neck paint for decades before the satin bodies came along
And lastly, we sometimes do use the body satin on our necks. The Meadowhawk and Redshifter both used it, and if you call in you can order it as an off-menu option for an upcharge.
 
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