I recieved my first warmoth neck today and it is freakin excellent! I was ripped off by another company so I'm really happy this worked out.... So far. I want to do a tru oil finish. Side it has plasticizers in it will it be covered in the warranty? I can get a really solid finish with tru oil after a lot of layers. I'm mainly just worried about finishing the neck before I get the body and end up finding out there's a defect when it's to late.
Tru oil warranty?
- Thread starter Mandalie
- Start date
Mr. Neutron
Junior Member
- Messages
- 85
When I spoke to a Warmoth rep about using Minwax wipe-on poly or Tru-Oil, he flatly said "No" to essentially ANY wipe on finish......
Rick
Epic Member
- Messages
- 6,933
Put the finish on first. I've used tru-oil on three maple necks. Never had a problem and looks great. Go for it. I put on 12 coats. A coat in the morning, and another in the evening. Let it sit about three weeks to harden, then lightly buff with meguiar's buffing compound or scratch x. Can't be easier.
Don't put anything on the fretboard, rosewood doesn't need anything more than an annual wiping of mineral oil.
I've never had a problem with warmoth necks so rest easy. If there's any problem, it won't be the neck.
Don't put anything on the fretboard, rosewood doesn't need anything more than an annual wiping of mineral oil.
I've never had a problem with warmoth necks so rest easy. If there's any problem, it won't be the neck.
Mr. Neutron
Junior Member
- Messages
- 85
I'm in the process of finishing a big headstock modern construction neck with Tru-Oil right now; reglar ole maple with a Pau Ferro fretboard.
Personally, I feel it's much easier to finish it while separate from the guitar. Just tape off the fretboard and the parts of the neck where it fits into the body that you don't want finish on first. It just seems like it might be tough to keep from getting the oil on a part of your guitar where you may not want any if you assemble it. And the neck by itself is pretty easy to deal with as far as applying the oil and hanging to dry.
You didn't ask, but I might give a little bit of advice about applying the finish. Apply VERY LIGHT coats. On the headstock, I only put 2 small drops on each side, and spread those around. I use essentially one smallish drop to go around the sides of the headstock. I put only 3 VERY LIGHT coats on the back of the neck, let it dry for a few days, and scuffed the back down with gray (extra fine?) ScotchBrite. I want a semi-glossy finish on the headstock, so I'm applying only a few more VERY LIGHT coats. I will scuff the headstock with that gray ScotchBrite before my last coat, and put a some thinned out Tru-Oil on for the last coat. After a week or so, I'll scuff it lightly again, then buff/rub it.
When you apply a VERY LIGHT layer/coat, if you discover you've missed a small area, let it dry and THEN get it with your next coat. It doesn't really work out to try to smear it around after the stuff has dried for 5-10 minutes. Doing this job where there's plenty of light will help a lot with seeing where you've applied the finish, and where you haven't, especially after your first coat. It just gets harder to see where you've applied it after there's a layer or two already on. At least it is for old blind bastards like me...... :icon_scratch:
If it matters, I've began using the green latex or vinyl gloves on my hand, and applying the oil with Mr. Pointy finger. For me, this works well; better than anything else I tried. I either got bubbles and "brush marks" with any of the numerous "tampons" I tried to put down the oil with, or they left bits of fiber or paper fuzz in my newly laid down finish. I tried old t-shirt material cut into about 4" squares. I put either more t-shirt material or a cut up blue paper shop towel inside that, and made a little applicator like shown in a few videos I watched. Like I said, it all either left "streaks" that needed level sanding more often, of bits of fibers. I also tried (without much success) medical cotton gauze pads, cut up squares of either blue paper shop towels or cotton t-shirts all by themselves, and wasn't happy with those. This was just my own experience; hopefully however you choose to do will work out just wonderfully. I chose to give it The Finger. :headbang:
Here where I live in western Oregon, it's cooled off dramatically at nights lately, and only getting into the low-to-mid 60s for daytime high temps. Dunno what the humidity is, but I know the coats I put on dry slowly now. So I put a coat on in the morning, let it dry, and maybe will put on another one in the evening. If you live in, say, a place like SoCal or AZ, you can probably put on 3-4 coats a day. Or, you may need to only put one on and let it dry for 24 hours. Just depends on the climate of where ya live. When you level sand it, if little "rolls" of finish come off on the sandpaper or lays on the body in little soft "clumps", you haven't let it dry enough. Stop, let it dry some more, then go back to sanding and recoating. It needs to be dry to work with, and when you apply your next coat. Not waiting long enough can make a finish on a guitar that may take months or a year to completely cure. This again is another reason for VERY LIGHT coats. They simply cure faster.
Lots and lots of time, and lots and lots of patience will be your new best friends when finishing a guitar. :icon_thumright:
Hope this helps you, or someone. If you knew all this already, I apologize. Just trying to help.....
Personally, I feel it's much easier to finish it while separate from the guitar. Just tape off the fretboard and the parts of the neck where it fits into the body that you don't want finish on first. It just seems like it might be tough to keep from getting the oil on a part of your guitar where you may not want any if you assemble it. And the neck by itself is pretty easy to deal with as far as applying the oil and hanging to dry.
You didn't ask, but I might give a little bit of advice about applying the finish. Apply VERY LIGHT coats. On the headstock, I only put 2 small drops on each side, and spread those around. I use essentially one smallish drop to go around the sides of the headstock. I put only 3 VERY LIGHT coats on the back of the neck, let it dry for a few days, and scuffed the back down with gray (extra fine?) ScotchBrite. I want a semi-glossy finish on the headstock, so I'm applying only a few more VERY LIGHT coats. I will scuff the headstock with that gray ScotchBrite before my last coat, and put a some thinned out Tru-Oil on for the last coat. After a week or so, I'll scuff it lightly again, then buff/rub it.
When you apply a VERY LIGHT layer/coat, if you discover you've missed a small area, let it dry and THEN get it with your next coat. It doesn't really work out to try to smear it around after the stuff has dried for 5-10 minutes. Doing this job where there's plenty of light will help a lot with seeing where you've applied the finish, and where you haven't, especially after your first coat. It just gets harder to see where you've applied it after there's a layer or two already on. At least it is for old blind bastards like me...... :icon_scratch:
If it matters, I've began using the green latex or vinyl gloves on my hand, and applying the oil with Mr. Pointy finger. For me, this works well; better than anything else I tried. I either got bubbles and "brush marks" with any of the numerous "tampons" I tried to put down the oil with, or they left bits of fiber or paper fuzz in my newly laid down finish. I tried old t-shirt material cut into about 4" squares. I put either more t-shirt material or a cut up blue paper shop towel inside that, and made a little applicator like shown in a few videos I watched. Like I said, it all either left "streaks" that needed level sanding more often, of bits of fibers. I also tried (without much success) medical cotton gauze pads, cut up squares of either blue paper shop towels or cotton t-shirts all by themselves, and wasn't happy with those. This was just my own experience; hopefully however you choose to do will work out just wonderfully. I chose to give it The Finger. :headbang:
Here where I live in western Oregon, it's cooled off dramatically at nights lately, and only getting into the low-to-mid 60s for daytime high temps. Dunno what the humidity is, but I know the coats I put on dry slowly now. So I put a coat on in the morning, let it dry, and maybe will put on another one in the evening. If you live in, say, a place like SoCal or AZ, you can probably put on 3-4 coats a day. Or, you may need to only put one on and let it dry for 24 hours. Just depends on the climate of where ya live. When you level sand it, if little "rolls" of finish come off on the sandpaper or lays on the body in little soft "clumps", you haven't let it dry enough. Stop, let it dry some more, then go back to sanding and recoating. It needs to be dry to work with, and when you apply your next coat. Not waiting long enough can make a finish on a guitar that may take months or a year to completely cure. This again is another reason for VERY LIGHT coats. They simply cure faster.
Lots and lots of time, and lots and lots of patience will be your new best friends when finishing a guitar. :icon_thumright:
Hope this helps you, or someone. If you knew all this already, I apologize. Just trying to help.....
bagman67
Epic Member
- Messages
- 9,131
The warranty does not itself spell out whether Tru-oil in particular, if "competently" applied, is within the terms of the guarantee; but Tru-oil is a polymerizing oil/varnish product that forms a waterproof barrier film, so it should qualify as a "hard shell finish" for practical purposes. Whoever you spoke with on the phone may have been mistaken, but if it comes down to it, and you've truly done a competent job of applying Tru-oil per the manufacturer's instructions, it would surprise me if you ran into a refusal to honor the warranty.
Consider that many, many home guitar assemblers such as those frequenting this board rely on Tru-oil to get the job done, and there is no mad rush of warranty claims for necks finished with it. You're not taking much of a risk.
Consider that many, many home guitar assemblers such as those frequenting this board rely on Tru-oil to get the job done, and there is no mad rush of warranty claims for necks finished with it. You're not taking much of a risk.
stratamania
Mythical Status
- Messages
- 12,023
I have had absolutely no issues with Tru Oil on Warmoth Modern and Vintage Modern Construction.
TonyFlyingSquirrel
Master Member
- Messages
- 4,559
My Bari-Tele neck has had its original 8-10 coats of Tru Oil on it for upwards of 8 years and it still feels the same.
My 98' Mauser in 8mm with its AAAAA Birdseye Maple Monte Carlo Rollover stock has had its original Tru Oil finish on it for over 30 years and it's been my brush rifle the whole time, never have had to touch it up or add more coats, durable as heck!
My 98' Mauser in 8mm with its AAAAA Birdseye Maple Monte Carlo Rollover stock has had its original Tru Oil finish on it for over 30 years and it's been my brush rifle the whole time, never have had to touch it up or add more coats, durable as heck!
Thanks for the help guys. I finished another cheap neck I had in tru oil and it turned out nice so I'm thinking this warmoth neck with be 100x better. I just prop the neck up on two wooden blocks with the fretboard instead of hanging it. If that makes sense ha. I just woke up and am not in a descriptive mood.
Rick
Epic Member
- Messages
- 6,933
Whatever gets you through the night, but the easiest way is to take a stick at least the thickness of the body at the neck pocket, and is the width of the neck, and screw in the neck to this piece of wood. That way you have a handle, and you can you can hang it, or put the stick in vice to hold it for you. Makes it easier for me. Just a thought.
Mr. Neutron
Junior Member
- Messages
- 85
I hung both the necks I've bought with a really stout S-hook shaped fencing wire through the hole for the upper-most tuner. Put the other end on a curtain rod right above a heat vent where the heat comes out of the floor. A neck doesn't weigh enough to stress a curtain rod. Those that know me well enough would argue that neck probably weighs more than the tiny buck I shot last season...... :laughing7: Oh well...... I've also used a handle like Rick described, and it worked just fine. It got "re-purposed" into something else, so I use the fence wire now..... :dontknow:
Bagman, I can't recall the name of the Warmoth tech that I spoke to on the phone about the poly or oil finishes. He was a nice guy. I just recall hanging up and thinking "Meh.... I'll probably never need to use the warranty anyway". To me, a guitar neck or body can be really artful, beautiful things. And I will try as hard as I can to make them look that way. But when all the shoutin' and guitar assembling is done, they're just a tool for me to make the sounds I wanna hear. They're not a shrine..... So I wasn't really worried about my oil finish voiding the warranty.
Warmoth builds really good stuff. I'd bet they'd probably do something to help you anyway, if it were ever conclusive that they did something "wrong". If not, they need to take a lesson from some of the shooting industry's customer service policies. Manufacturers like Dillon Precision and Lee go more than "the extra mile" to be sure to keep their customers happy, even if a customer admits to being at fault. Really great customer service from those places.
Bagman, I can't recall the name of the Warmoth tech that I spoke to on the phone about the poly or oil finishes. He was a nice guy. I just recall hanging up and thinking "Meh.... I'll probably never need to use the warranty anyway". To me, a guitar neck or body can be really artful, beautiful things. And I will try as hard as I can to make them look that way. But when all the shoutin' and guitar assembling is done, they're just a tool for me to make the sounds I wanna hear. They're not a shrine..... So I wasn't really worried about my oil finish voiding the warranty.
Warmoth builds really good stuff. I'd bet they'd probably do something to help you anyway, if it were ever conclusive that they did something "wrong". If not, they need to take a lesson from some of the shooting industry's customer service policies. Manufacturers like Dillon Precision and Lee go more than "the extra mile" to be sure to keep their customers happy, even if a customer admits to being at fault. Really great customer service from those places.
Cagey
Mythical Status
- Messages
- 24,425
Mr. Neutron said:
That's true of most people, I think. I've been on this forum for a long time, and warranty questions are as rare as hen's teeth. Warmoth goes to a great deal of trouble to build and deliver a product that doesn't need a warranty.
Also, for what it's worth, Warmoth says in their experience that about 10% of necks made from woods that might be unstable actually move on the end user and warp/twist, which is why they won't warrant necks without a hard finish. It's too much risk for them, but the risk really isn't as as great as one might think. Probably depends on how attached one might get to a particular neck. Rosewood over Maple necks are fairly inexpensive, relatively speaking, so if after a couple years you need to replace one because it goes pretzel on you, whaddaya looking at? A $200 bill? Of course, something with a lot of figuring, a high-end fretboard and a professional setup could be kinda pricey. My own experience with Maple says it moves more often than that, but I live in Michigan, where the weather varies quite a bit over the seasons.
bagman67
Epic Member
- Messages
- 9,131
Any individual user assumes risk only for the neck(s) they buy, while Warmoth's exposure is every neck that goes out the door. As end users, we can't do anything, really, to protect ourselves against a defect arising, apart from the bare minimum - put a film on it - but Warmoth has the historical experience to know how to quantify and minimize the risk far better than we do.
Not sure this moves the discussion along, but hey, sometimes I just spew non sequiturs.
Not sure this moves the discussion along, but hey, sometimes I just spew non sequiturs.
DarkPenguin
Senior Member
- Messages
- 370
My fender American Standard's neck pretzeled and it had a ludicrously thick finish on it.
Mr. Neutron
Junior Member
- Messages
- 85
DarkPenguin said:
Hmmm. Was that a Fender neck, Warmoth, or???
stratamania
Mythical Status
- Messages
- 12,023
Mr. Neutron said:
He said it was a fender so I assume it would be a Fender.
fdesalvo
Hero Member
- Messages
- 3,609
Not to belabor the point, but -
I've yet to have a TO'd neck warp, twist, move, etc - or otherwise misbehave in any way. I've applied it to thick, glossy finishes and have also done 2 soak coats, buffing off the excess to a satin finish (my new, preferred method). The stuff is solid gold and very durable in my experience. I recently sold a 1-pc maple neck that had its original, 5 year-old TO finish on it. There was no wear to be seen.
I've yet to have a TO'd neck warp, twist, move, etc - or otherwise misbehave in any way. I've applied it to thick, glossy finishes and have also done 2 soak coats, buffing off the excess to a satin finish (my new, preferred method). The stuff is solid gold and very durable in my experience. I recently sold a 1-pc maple neck that had its original, 5 year-old TO finish on it. There was no wear to be seen.
