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Finishing a 70's maple jazz neck replica....help & advice please :)


Raslee
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Since sadly having to part ways with my real 74 jazz I've decided to do a replica build (ish) of it. I have a body and electrics, not exactly a replica of the old body but an aged decent body i've had for a while from MJT.

I want to recreate something similar with a neck I have as my old 74. I have all the parts - managed to get a decent B-stock All Parts Japan maple neck with blocks and some 70's replica tuners, and also a period correct decal.

The new neck is totally unfinished and i need to know where to start; i have some Manchester guitars tint spray and that's about it. My previous 74 neck had, i presume, a varnish finish too..is there a recommendation for a suitable finishing varnish, or lacquer ?, available from B&Q that would go over the tint? And how is best to apply? I may try and 'dirt' the neck up a little to in order to make it look a little aged...again any advice on dirt :rolleyes: . Also any advice on how to age chrome parts a little - mainly the tuners?


Sorry for the lots of Q's but i'm clueless at this sort of thing, mostly a pen pusher by day :lol: .....if anyone knows where i can send all the parts and get them to do it then great ....or alternatively with a little help here i could give it a go myself :yarr: .

I did Google instructions but couldn't find any definitive guides, especially for a 70's maple neck - although admittedly it was a quick Google having been snowed under with work of late.

As always any advice or guidance is vastly appreciated (I can offer psychiatric/social work advice in return...but no crisis please - i have enough of that in the day job! :lol: :lol: :lol: )

For reference this was my original 74 neck:

[attachment=224051:IMG_0051.jpg]

Edited by Raslee
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I've not tried it myself but you can apparently use fumes from muriatic acid (concrete cleaner) to age the tuners, have a look on YouTube and see if it's something you fancy doing, I was going to try it but bottled out in the end and bought aged tuners instead.

I look forward to seeing the finished bass :)

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If it's unfinished you're going to need to get some laquer on it or it will end up filthy (and not in a nice 70s patina way). The stuff to use would be nitrocellulose laquer. However that is not stuff you want to be inhaling! It will also need some careful sanding and polishing.

If you are not particularly DIY minded it might be worth seeking a local luthier that could finish the neck for you

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Your 70s neck would have had a Poly finish, there isn't really a decent poly in a rattle can, so I second the motion for Nitro if your going to DIY.

The neck in the pic doesn't have too much of a tint to it and clear Nitro will naturally yellow/Amber even before it ages. So if you're going to use any tinted lacquer go easy on it! The basic procedure would be to spray as many coats as desired of the tint (i.e not many) then follow up with multiple coats of clear. Leave several weeks, wetsand and polish.

If it's a Maple fingerboard like the pic it makes things a little trickier as its a pain wetsanding and buffing in between frets! It's still a job you should be able to complete yourself, but it may be a bigger job than you anticipate and you'll probably pull some hair out!

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