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which neck finish

which finish is the best?

  • ClearGloss

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Clear Satin

    Votes: 8 47.1%
  • Vintage Gloss

    Votes: 3 17.6%
  • Vintage Satin

    Votes: 6 35.3%

  • Total voters
    17
Good point. Certainly hasn't hurt this guy's body of work, level of fame or ability to make money...

Willie-Nelson.jpg

Or this guy's, for that matter...

srv.JPG

Buncha animals... <grin>
 
Cagey said:
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.

sn10709B.jpg

sn10494B.jpg

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.

I can't help it. When I look at the color, I see Cheez Ballz, or Velveeta...

I love the color of a true Fender Vintage neck, but I don't think Warmoth is purveying that same tone ... at least not from the photos I've seen.
 
To say that Warmoth isn't conveying it, they are and they aren't.  If comparing to a 50 year old Fender neck that had a light Amber tone that aged over time from sunlight, sweat, and cigarette smoke, how could they.  The newer Fender stuff that is overly yellowed, it isn't any different than what Warmoth is doing.  On one of my mine in particular with a vintage tint neck finish has been mistaken for being much older.  Saying 3 years always disappoints.

Now, both satin finishes are nitro, so they are not UV protected.  You could leave the clear satin in the sun and even if the finish didn't yellow, the Maple underneath would.
 
I'm not picky about vintage correct; let me be clear.  The two vintage tint satin necks I have owned look unnatural and just plain odd.  If you're local to Puyallup, WA, I'll show you in person.  It is not a flattering combination, and much worse in person than in pictures.

-Mark
 
After lots of test sticks ( 5 gal paint stirrers from Home Depot - free for the asking) I've decided to go with Gloss wipe-on-poly for the neck. But as has been mentioned, but not sure where I saw it mentioned, gloss wipe on poly will show every glitch in your prep job. Not just show them, but accentuate them. I don't know if its the oil or the gloss or both. From what I read more coats does not 'save' you like it can with other finishes.

The Semi Gloss spray poly (minwix) and spray Deft Lacquer were more forgiving of less than perfect prep.

Deft Lacquer was very forgiving to spray. It can go on from fairly dry to fairly wet without issue. But you do use a lot to get a finish on a neck sized piece of wood because of the overspray. All finishes seemed like you could get a good finish in the end whether wipe or spray (rattle can).

In the end I was glad I did a bunch of test sticks because I was 95% set on Deft but changed my mind after doing more than just a few quick test swipes.

Polycrylic felt the most sticky.
Wipe on poly feels smooth practically from the first coat. The spray semi-gloss Poly felt good after some coat build up a light scuff with 000

Another thing I like about the Wipe-on-poly is it seems protected even with only a few coats and can feel really natural that way

So in the end, it was wipe on poly that we (me and the guy I'm doing the build for) chose as the finish we wanted. I would have not had a problem with Deft Lacquer but the dry time was a big check mark against it given the good results I got on my test sticks with the other finishes.

Now if it was a body, and not a neck that I was deciding on, it would be either the Spray Nitro or the Spray Poly. That gloss wipe on takes some practice to be able to get it even over something the size of a body. I was using it at stock viscosity maybe thinned it might go on a little easier with more 'work' time before it goes tacky.

Anyway just some random observations after a few days of putting finish on test sticks. Tomorrow I start the first neck with the wipe on gloss poly.

Today was a big day. After weeks of planning, discussion, decisions, and ordering parts, today actual building started. I put shellac sealer on my 7/8ths Alder body today.  Man I'm glad to be done spraying and wiping finish test sticks.
 
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