which neck finish

[warcripp]

I am stuck here on which finish to order. Help me out. I m leaning towards the satin but i am unsure.

 

[Tipperman]

Vintage satin. Nitro is my favorite, although my current warmoth (and only Warmoth now) has a vintage gloss. I love the gloss, but I love the satin even more. It may get "gummy" to you. I had a warmoth neck with the satin, and I loved it. However, I have since sold it so I can't go on anything other than memory.

 

[B3Guy]

what wood is it on? most people on here are going to say "none", as in don't finish. buy a neck in a wood that is playable raw that has similar tonal properties to the finished wood you're eyeing now.

Maple i think is matched well by canary and perhaps pauferro?

If you must finish, I say go satin. tint or no depends on what you're putting the neck on.

 

[Tipperman]

I assumed maple, hence my choice of Vintage Tint. If you are going with an exotic wood that still requires a finish, such as Limba (Korina), go with a clear finish. If you are ordering Canary, or Wenge, etc, no finish is needed. Trust me - Those woods feel great without a finish.

 

[Cagey]

I am stuck here on which finish to order. Help me out. I m leaning towards the satin but i am unsure.

If you think you'd like a satin finish, a raw neck is often better. Otherwise, gloss is nice. Pick clear or "vintage" to match the rest of the guitar. Some people say a gloss finish is "sticky", but I've never had that problem. I keep my hands clean, which is 90% of the battle there. Plus, a gloss finish cleans up easier.

 

[warcripp]

maple neck/indian rosewood fingerboard.

 

[ezas]

I'm also on the fence about neck finish and want to decide this weekend.

I'm doing two necks both maple/rosewood. I've been leaning towards using Semi-gloss deft after doing some test spraying and seeing how easy it is to get a nice finish that feels good. I understand it will take some time to dry but temps/humdity are pretty optimum for that right now. Day time temps 85 to 95F and 30% to 50% humidity.

But I haven't taken Poly off the table yet. I understand some of the benefits/drawbacks of Poly  But I'm still hazy on the advantages of Spray Poly over wipe on Poly. I think I understand that wipe on is just poly that is thinned for wiping and that water based will change the color of the wood the least, no fumes, water clean up etc.. But beyond that what is the advantage/disadvantage of Wipe on vs Spray and Oil based vs Water based Poly?

If I do decide on water based Poly or even oil based what can I use to give the the wood just a touch of warmth before spraying/wiping clear? I was thinking some shellac or shellac based sealer.  A test piece on a paint stirrer stick came up promising but am open to other suggestions. I also like the idea of some sealer on the maple for a good base to start from.

My two application options are spray bomb and wipe on or if needed a Preval unit. I will be setting up a make shift 3 sided paint booth on my covered porch for spraying/hanging.

My preferences for sourcing are a big box/hardware stores and/or Woodcraft store. I also have a very knowledgeable, friendly and helpful Automotive Paint store in my town.

I have been reading (a lot) and will be doing more reading later today. But thought I would throw this out there for input since I saw this thread. If I should have started my own thread I apologize. Some forums seem to like one way over the other.

 

[AutoBat]

i like gloss on mahogany and vintage gloss on maple.

 

[Strat Avenger]

I would say clear satin unless someone's building a vintage-style guitar with a maple neck, in which case the the vintage tinted satin would look more appropriate.

With that said, I intend for my next two builds to have a hand-rubbed oil & wax finish, as even a satin clear finish will "polish up" over time from playing it.

 

[stubhead]

I had good luck sealing with wax-free shellac - Zinsser Bullseye -
http://www.rustoleum.com/CBGProduct.asp?pid=245
And then wipe-on poly, thinned way down, 4 -5 coats applied about an hour apart.
Any decent local hardware store can order the Zinsser, that's a decent relationship to have if you build stuff (as opposed to always buying online).

However, the last few necks I've done with Tru-Oil, and aside from waiting three weeks for the final coat to set, it's an easy and high-grade finish.

 

[reluctant-builder]

You know, I'm having the same problem. I originally went with Vintage Gloss for my Jazzmaster neck, but I've since changed to Clear Gloss. I think the vintage looks too much like processed cheese, literally ... I've got a Hagstrom HB-4 that has an unfinished maple neck -- with a synthetic ebony fretboard -- and I love it, but I want my JM to be reasonably faithful to the original spec. I just don't like the Vintage color; it's a little too orange for me.

 

[Cagey]

I don't know about processed cheese... it depends on what you're marrying it up with. Mate it with something reddish or brownish (warm colors), and it'll look like the amber it is. Try it with something greenish or blueish (cold colors), and it's going to lose some of its appeal. Shades of white or black don't count - they're not colors. Anything will align with those.

 

[Stew]

If you're thining about vintage satin realise that it does wear and you might end up with worn spots on your neck that are lighter in colour than the rest. Search the forum for examples. SuperTurboWhateverHisNameIsNow showed an example on a J-Bass neck.

 

[Schlieren]

Satin finish ends up glossy from your hands; I've worked mine over with 1200 grit sandpaper a few times and it's stayed satiny every since, although I'm hoping that doesn't last until a few years from now the finish is completely off the thing 

I figure after five or six years, it's going to be stable by then

 

[reluctant-builder]

I don't know about processed cheese... it depends on what you're marrying it up with. Mate it with something reddish or brownish (warm colors), and it'll look like the amber it is. Try it with something greenish or blueish (cold colors), and it's going to lose some of its appeal. Shades of white or black don't count - they're not colors. Anything will align with those.

I'm going to get a Black-Brown-Yellow burst on a Jazzmaster body. I'm not necessarily going for "vintage correct" but I'd like to be reasonably faithful where being so works out well. I think you're right about the relationship between body color and neck color, but I haven't seen any Vintage burst Warmoth Jazzmasters (or other body shapes) with a Warmoth Vintage neck, so I can't predict the result...

 

[Cagey]

Black-brown-yellow burst with a vintage-tint maple neck and an ebony fretboard would look like sex. I can't imagine you wouldn't be highly pleased. In fact, that's the only way to do that combo. I think there's a law. If there's not, there should be <grin>

 

[AprioriMark]

The vintage tint satin finish is UNNATURALLY AWFUL looking on maple, and has been said, it wears in shiny patches where you play more.  I can't emphasize enough how ODD the coloring of Warmoth's vintage satin really is.  As I've said before, it looks a bit like an over-applied spray tan.  I own several vintage Fender necks, and while obviously none of them are satin, the color of W's satin vintage is still much more orange than any of them.  I'm sure a big part of it is the lack of gloss, but... do yourself a favor and don't get vintage tint satin.

-Mark

 

[bagman67]

The matte doesn't seem as bad as all that (yes, I know, photos ain't necessarily perfect representations of reality):

Also, rosewood looks okay instead of ebony - when it's this slice of rosewood, anyway.

Also, quartersawn maple FTW!!!!!!!!!!11

 

[Cagey]

Gloss vs. satin does seem to make a difference, eh? These are both shot by Warmoth's painter god, and photographed by the same guy using the same equipment. Although, they have different backgrounds and are different chunks of wood.

Still, I can see either one looking perfect with a black/brown/yellow burst, at least when they're new. The satin finished one won't look as good very far down the road, but that's just the nature of the beast.

 

[bagman67]

Obviously it's a matter of individual aesthetic preference, but I'm perfectly okay with a satin finish getting glossy where it gets handled - part of the process of imbuing a guitar with mojo is making the shiny parts dull and making the dull parts shiny -- through honest use.  Some guitars I like to keep as pristine as possible, within the bounds of actually playing the darn things - but my Martin dreadnought (purchased new, with a satin finish) is now dinged all to hell and about a quarter of the top and half the remaining  surface is glossy from my thumb on the back of the neck, my belly against its backside, forearm on the bout, etc., etc.  It's spent at least half its life out of its case, so I could just grab it and strum - and you can tell it's beat to hell, but you can tell it's been PLAYED when you hear it.

Pardon my digression, but I do feel that anyone's imaginary dream guitar is one ding away from being a warm, comfortable sweetheart, instead of a cold, glossy, photoshopped centerfold.