Wenge neck - Won't stay smooth.

[n1as]

I have two basses with wedge neck shafts.  I've sanded both 600 1000 1500 2000.  They ended up really smooth and feel great.  But 6 most later the grain is starting to raise when my thumb touches the back of the neck.

I would expect any unfinished wood to have endless grain-raising issues yet so may people say to leave wedge unfinished.  This puzzles me.

I'm thinking another 600 - 2000 sanding session followed by a rub on oil would be the ticket.

 

[ragamuffin]

Hmm I have a wenge neck and have never had this issue… do you have really sweaty hands or something?

 

[Rick]

Huh?  I’d like to see that.  In person. 

 

[NedRyerson]

I have two Conklin basses, both with wenge necks.  One I've had for 20+ years, the other is the same age, but I've owned for less than a year.  Neither have this issue.  The only major work I've done is take care of some fret sprout on my 5-string (the one I've owned for 20+ years).

Never had any grain rise with either of them.

 

[n1as]

So, my experience with wenge grain raising over time is not universal?  I don't consider myself to have especially damp hands.  Maybe it is because both necks are relatively new (12 mos +/-).

All I know is I loved how smooth they became after the progressive dry sanding I did but lamented how they became rough again in the subsequent months.

 

[Rick]

The only way I can see this happen is if you brought it to a gig and while you got a beer someone who worked in a chemical factory slathered their grubby hands over it.
My recommendation is clean with naphtha reburnish  the neck then apply a light coat of mineral oil.

You need to get rid of whatever chemical was put on it.  What that chemical was who knows.

 

[n1as]

Well, the only gigs have been at church where nobody but me touches the bass. A gig is a whopping 2 sets of 4 songs.  No long sweaty marathons.  Both necks went straight from Warmoth to me.

The grain raising is in the areas where my thumb makes contact

 

[Rick]

Well, something on the thumb contaminated the wood.  It wasn’t sweat.

 

[stratamania]

Can you post some pictures of the neck and the problem area?

 

[Dero08]

I have two basses with wedge neck shafts. I've sanded both 600 1000 1500 2000. They ended up really smooth and feel great. But 6 most later the grain is starting to raise when my thumb touches the back of the neck.

I would expect any unfinished wood to have endless grain-raising issues yet so may people say to leave wedge unfinished. This puzzles me.

I'm thinking another 600 - 2000 sanding session followed by a rub on oil would be the ticket.

i finished a wenge neck 18 months ago and it’s still glass smooth. Here’s what I did, which is close to your process:

1. sanded up to 400 grit, cleaned off sawdust
2. applied a thin coat of Tru Oil with cloth, sanded with 400 grit wet/dry sandpaper using TO as lubricant, then wiped another light coat immediately after sanding. I progressed down the neck small sections at a time. I lightly wiped off excess oil with a shop towel as I moved down.
3. once dry (6-12 hrs) scuffed with fine synthetic sanding pad (grey colored 3M) … repeat steps 2 & 3
4. keep progressing with the following grits, two coats each: 800, 1500, 2000, 3000, 4000. I occasionally burnished with an old tee shirt between coats.
5. Finished with a light coat of Casey‘s Gunstock wax.

It had a rosewood fretboard, which I taped off.

here’s the end result:

https://flic.kr/p/2o9wTrc